Why Sustain?

The last article left us pondering the idea of using up the last chunk of this world’s coal to run an air-conditioner in a dog house. Well, we are going to park here a bit, and contemplate one of the “whys” of sustainable living.

In a nutshell, sustainable living is for those who think outside of their own little world. It goes beyond our township, our county, our state, and even our nation. It embraces the whole of planet Earth, especially all of the 6,600,000,000 homo sapiens that wander upon its superfice.

So, if you are the man or woman who cannot break out of your comfort zone to expand your outlook to some unknown soul in another “world” beside your own, sustainable living will seem like so much gibberish to you. After all, if you are reading this, you probably belong to the world’s upper class—whether you like that status or not. As such, you have any responsibility with a homeless leper in Bangladesh.

I do not have to stretch my imagination too far to envision a response rising up in some that says, “Now that is taking things too far!”

As I said, I intend to park on this thought a bit. First, in today’s article, we will look at the issue from a mere non-religious, humanitarian standpoint. Later, I intend to take a peek into the religious aspects.

Like it or not, the problems on the other side of the planet are not so far removed from us as we would like to dream they are. This is truer today than at any other time in human history. Within seconds, messages can be sent to anywhere in the world. Planes can reach destination points anywhere on the globe within hours. News reports and TV images circulate the earth continually.

As much as we would like to, we cannot hide in some little corner anymore. We may personally think we are tucked safely away from events in other time zones, but we, as US citizens, are a part of a nation that is presently at the center of world attention. People in Bangladesh, and Tibet, and Mongolia, and Bolivia, and Rwanda, know how we live. They see us faring sumptuously every day.

Read carefully the following overview of the distribution of world wealth, remembering that we are being watched.

2% of the world’s population has half of its wealth.

Did you get that? Reread that statement slowly and let it sink in.

Now, can you guess how much money it takes to be in the world’s top 1% of wealthy people?

A mere $500,000. That is right! If you have over $500,000 in assets you are among the top 1% of wealthy people, who control 40% of the wealth in this world!

Okay, so some of us do not fit that category. How about the top 10% of wealthiest people, who control 85% of this world’s riches? Only $61,000 per adult is needed to be in this category.

I am extremely curious as to what percentage of those who read this article would fit into the above categories. But, I won’t ask. It might trouble our conscience… Think so?

Well, if you found yourself too poor to fit into the top 10%, do not despair. It only takes $2,200 of assets per adult to hit the top 50%: As we used to say, “chicken feed” money!

And the remaining 50% of the world’s population? Well, they barely, all 3,300,000,000 of them together, have 1% of its wealth.

Why live sustainingly?

I really should not have to expound the point, but I will.

We citizens of the USA are about 5% of the population of the world. Yet we control 34% of its wealth. Compare that to India, with 16% of the world’s population, and about 1% of its wealth.

What has happened, historically, when the wealthy live lavishly, disregarding the poor? Any student of history will tell you that eventually the poor rise up, in disgust and revenge, and unceremoniously do away with their “oppressors”.

Do we, as normal, everyday, run-of-the-mill Americans, oppress lepers in Bangladesh?

I know what most of us here would say: “Of course not! We do not even know who he is!”

Let us ask the same question on the other side. Or should we? His answer might offend us, or cause a twinge in our conscience, or make our face turn red!

“Yes! You Americans, so few in this world, yet you consume almost 1/3 of the world’s oil! You have 3 cars, 1000 square feet of living space per occupant, a boat, vacation property… You capitalistic pig!” And his voice trails off in anger.

You see, having spent almost five years in the “real world”, a so-called “third-world” country, I have come to understand why anti-Americanism is on the rise around the globe. They see, via television and Internet, how we live here, pampered in our riches, gulping down the world’s resources at a disproportional rate. They say, “It isn’t right!”

Is it right? If the whole world lived like we do, fossil fuels would run out in an amazingly short time. Maybe not in my generation, but very likely in my son’s or grandson’s.

They are angry at us, with a reason. They would like to see us fall off our silk stools and share in their struggles to get enough rice for supper.

Why live sustainingly? We live in this world with at least 5,599,999,999 others. When we live feverishly consuming resources as though we and our little click are the only ones here, we make enemies—hordes of them.

Would a reduction in enemies be worth the effort to live more sustainably? You, and I, have to decide.

www.wider.unu.edu