abstract

Discourse on consumption and child-rearing in relation to current environmental and social injustices

The process of moving towards a more sustainable culture in the United States is a problem requiring a transdisciplinary approach because there are many issues to be addressed from many angles. Our current environmental crisis has its root in our social consciousness, so in deciding how to address the total problem of living a more sustainable lifestyle, one must examine the different reasons for our current situation and the possible results of any major changes in policy or practice. The reasons that many people are feeling the need for changes in our lifestyle have to do with the fact that we are relying on resources that are depleting quickly in an unstable economic situation. Many different organizations are set up to address many issues, but only in coming together can real changes arise.
Economists are currently trained to look at the most pressing issues of the world and decide which one is the most feasible to eradicate quickly for the least amount of money Unfortunately, most of the problems are intrinsically linked to treating symptoms instead of the actual disease. Conflicts arise because there is only so much money to go around, which leads people to focus most closely on issues related to the generation of economic growth; powered by increasing our consumption. Human rights issues are all weighed on an economical scale, because many people believe that if we put money in the right direction towards the best technological and scientific solutions, we can create resources to solve all the world's problems, including world hunger, population density, crime, health and environmental concerns. Most technological innovations are geared towards the ideas of maximizing efficiency and creating synthetic replacements for currently diminishing and/or harmful resources so that we can maintain the world we live in.
When people do realize that many physical problems are social ones, they look for ways to eradicate or combat them in ways that are not always conducive to the target groups. Understanding that global warming and many illnesses are related to certain chemicals in our products makes people look for ways to change or remove those chemicals from the products instead of figuring out which products we should simply stop making.
Our current sentiments are reflected by our treatment of children.People’s concern for better education of children revolves around the fact that we want to be a competing nation in industrial production and monetary wealth. States that have children who score lower on tests than others are encouraged to buy more advanced learning tools that equip them with what is needed to pass those tests to be able to later compete for jobs requiring certain skills. The general consensus is that if we have better television programs and more equipment, children will be more satisfied and have better morals so that they can function optimally within our current system.
However, the pressure to perform certain tasks, to complete certain tests, to maintain higher status and increase income level is the root of the problem. People can be better prepared for the jobs they do perform and guided toward an ethic that allows them to feel good enough about themselves that they will be freed of much of the stress that leads to many issues such as abject poverty, street crime, illness, and malice towards others.
When analyzing these connections between environmental and social injustices we can begin by deconstructing our current consumption patterns to explore a variety of means to transcend our plight. Starting with the exploration of cultural perceptions of the developing child, we can see how people are shaped by what is around them. This information allows us to begin to reshape the models to more effectively enhance their learning experiences, allowing room for growth and to foster more interactive experiences that connect them to one another as well as to the built and natural environments so that the intrinsic sense memories of those bonds can lead them to live fuller adult lives.