The Effects Of Overconsumption, Waste Management, And The Environment

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Overconsumption, Waste Management, and the Environment
It was filmmaker and activist Kalle Lasn who said that “overconsumption is the mother of all environmental problems” (Jessen, 2003). For Kidzu Children’s Museum, overconsumption and its effects on the environment is such a significant social issue that they try to introduce children to it in inventive ways. In this paper, I will first define what overconsumption is and how it exists in both the global and local sphere among developed countries, particularly as it relates to how waste management occurs. Next, I will explain the background and significance of overconsumption and the resulting waste management issues. Thirdly, I will propose potential strategies for change within the …show more content…

Mount Holyoke College (n.d.) considers overconsumption to be the largest contributor to environmental degradation. Although humans are the ones doing the consuming, the resulting environmental issues, such as habitat destruction and water shortages, affect all levels of the ecosystem. According to Dolgon and Baker (2011), overconsumption has played a huge role in the emergence of solid waste management issues within the United States.
As a local nonprofit that prides itself on having a global mindset, Kidzu Children’s Museum has always emphasized the importance of environmental conservation. Through teaching children about how their actions can affect the environment, whether it be for better or for worse, Kidzu’s goal is to expose them to relevant social issues early on so that it becomes one of their core values.
Background and …show more content…

Even with stakeholder influence, a community’s economic, institutional, legal, environmental, and socio-cultural linkages are what enables or prevents its systems to function properly. According to international French businessman Claude Périou (2012), the issue of managing waste that comes from overconsumption is an issue that will be long-lasting: global production is expected to read 2.5 billion tons per year in 2025. If developed countries do not have sufficient means to dispose of the waste generated by this increased production, or ways to prevent the waste being created in general, it will continue to be left to decompose in landfills, in the communities as litter, or in the

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