of consumption and the environment

Some thoughts that have been churning in my head since a while now, think this a good forum to voice them

A lot of us are aware about our environment and do our bit in trying to sustain it. I used to hold the elitist view that the urban educated upper middle class is most environmentally conscious but this view has since changed. Infact, unintentionally as it may be, I feel that we are the biggest culprits.
The charge that I levy against all of us is unchecked consumerism and consumption. Please do not misunderstand, I am not proposing that we all give up our indulgences and live an austere lifestyle. However, we certainly need to check our consumption.

How much of what we purchase do we throw? Every object that we purchase has consumed some natural resource. That apart, there are always a few byproducts in the production process. And the most criminal of all, completely wasteful packaging. I have never understood why corporations give so much packaging. In many cases, 90% of the packing is waste, only 10% is protecting the product and keeping it perfect for consumption. Chocolates are the biggest culprits (industry wise) in this area. There seems to be an unfortunate perception that the bigger the brand, the more elaborate the packaging should be. Even something as simple as a shirt comes with equal lengths of paper and plastic.

The point I am trying to make is that every single consumption is impacting the environment. This does not imply we stop consuming. But can we please be more measured in our consumption. What is the point of having one car per family member, that too in a city like Mumbai, with its public transport? Shopping to improve one’s mood should be a crime punishable by law (kidding). And just how weak is your constitution that you need mineral water in Mumbai? Do you actually need a new mobile every 6 months? The idea is to buy and consume what one genuinely wants (and one has every right to want a Europe holiday or a bigger car or an AC in the living room) and what one will genuinely utilize. Any article that will be not be used adequately should be avoided. Another idea is, given a choice, to prefer articles which are less packaging intensive. Once the corporations see this preference, they will automatically look for more innovative, less wasteful solutions. Another area is the wasteful Indian culture of gift giving. Most of the gift giving is pure formality and leads to passing around of useless articles which are finally junked. Why can’t we all move to vouchers and wish lists?

I am not trying to start a revolution here. Nor do I intend to preach. I may be more guilty of the above charge that a lot of you. However, it is an idea that is worth a though. Please consider the above and make your choice. If each one avoids an avoidable consumption, we would have probably prevented production of 1 additional object and helped sustain resources longer.