It’s that time of year again International Buy Nothing Day, on Friday the 26th.
You’ve probably heard of it by now this is the 4th time in New Zealand and the 8th worldwide where groups have
celebrated a day where we take some time to think about our role in consumer society.
But why does it matter what we consume?
Auckland organiser Stuart Sontier says “we started celebrating Buy Nothing Day in 1995 from an intuitive feeling of
unease about over-consumption and society’s focus on material wealth. We’re now finding that numerous international
reports cite figures backing up our concerns. The latest is the UN Environment Programme’s GEO 2000 report.”
Nearly half the world’s population lives in cities, travelling vast distances in cars and planes and creating more
transportation of resources from distant countries. Transport accounts for ¼ of world energy use and ½ of world oil
production. New technologies have increased our use of primary resources, but the latest UNEP says “The magnitude of
this economic activity is causing environmental damage on a global scale and widespread pollution and disruption of
ecosystems.”
Says Stuart Sontier: “It’s also encouraging that the regional councils, in their latest initiative on waste, are
focussing on both what to do with waste, and the consumption that creates it. Similarly to us, they ask in a recent ad
‘Do you really need it? Will it end up in the rubbish.’ “We go further, connecting over-consumption with social and
environmental problems at a global level.”
We note that the nearing of the WTO Ministerial meeting is creating a debate as to the negative effects caused by
liberalising of trade to the social and physical environment, and the power of the WTO to undermine local environmental
law.
GEO 2000 states that if “population growth, economic growth and consumption patterns continue, the natural environment
will be increasingly stressed” and ”the present course is unsustainable and postponing action is no longer an option.”
That’s why we think the issues that Buy Nothing Day raises need to be discussed.
ends