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Evin Code
AP Lang Period 3
April 1st 2014
Ms. Reed

The production, processing, and consumption, of commodities requires the extraction and
use of natural resources; it requires the creation of factories and factory complexes whose
operation creates toxic byproducts, while the use of commodities themselves creates pollutants
and waste. The sale of goods is clearly essential to the economic growth and rise of a nation but
there comes a time when consumerism takes hold. Consumerism leads to overproduction and
countless economic, biological, and environmental atrocities that must be stopped. A day on
which no goods are purchased is a great place to start the prevention of the negative effects
brought on by consumerism. A worldwide Buy Nothing Day should be implemented annually so
future generations can live on a beautiful planet full of opportunity.
Some of us live lives of excess while others live in poverty. American society is filled
with unjustified desire. Instead of buying useless items like a third car when only two people in
the household drive or new clothes when a closet full of them sit at home, that money should be
directed toward a more beneficial cause. There are humans without access to education, without
money to buy lifesaving vaccines and ones who are plagued by famine. Buying someone the
necessities required to sustain life is much greater than buying the new electronic. Not only does
consumerism neglect the welfare of those less fortunate, it neglects the crying earth. The release
of greenhouse gases, from our factories and cars destroys the protective atmosphere and lets in
more heat from the sun, warming the oceans and melting precious icebergs. Global warming is a

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direct effect of consumerism. The cars we dont need and the factories that produce the goods we
dont need also produce poison to the earth. Millions of acres of forests that house habitats and
oxygen giving trees, have been cut down simply to fuel our addiction. Deforestation is
detrimental to a landscape and is considered one of the largest contributing factors to global
climate change. Climate change isnt just a Jacuzzi for our aquatic counterparts; it has a hand in
the development of devastating natural disasters, has the potential to flood much of our most
populated land and threatens to end human life.
Before consumerism destroys planet Earth, it will make us suffer through great economic
disaster. In the early 20th century, the Great Depression almost crumbled a growing world power
and made life unbearable for almost a decade. Greedy investors pumped more and more money
into the stock market, trying to add on to their millions and oblivious to the fact that prices
wouldnt rise forever. Consumer ideals prompted overproduction which led to a sharp decline in
the stock market and emptied everyones, especially the greedy investors, bank accounts. The
earth has a limited supply of resources and once some of them are gone, theyre gone forever.
Unless what is taken out matches what is put back in, society will come to a screeching halt in
the near future. Until permanent solutions are implemented everywhere, people must loosed their
grip on the earths depleting resources. To satisfy the relentless greed of a consumer society, land
ownership has become more concentrated in the hands of fewer owners, there is an increase in
urban migration as people move to the cities in hope for a better chance. This then places
additional stress on the larger cities to provide for more people. It also results in more slum areas,
health problems, increasing crime, over-crowding, and so on. Another byproduct of consumerism
is the hazardous waste being dumped into the environment, creating water, soil, and air pollution.
Waste that end up in water bodies negatively change the chemical composition of the water,

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affecting all ecosystems existing in the water. It can also cause harm to animals that drink from
such polluted water. Hazardous chemicals that get into the soil can harm plants when they take
up the contamination through their roots, giving the plants the potential to negatively affect
anyones health if theyve eaten it. In air pollution it will destroy anythings repertory system,
having lasting effects on its health.
A worldwide Buy Nothing Day should be in effect annually to remind people of the
insignificance of the majority of purchases and open their eyes to what they already have.
Directing money elsewhere can save millions of lives and prevent economic and environmental
disaster.

WC: 740