In a recent survey by the National Retail Federation, it was revealed that consumers plan to spend $42 more on gifts in 2023 during the Christmas holiday season compared to the previous year. The total spending on Christmas gifts in the United States will be $184 billion in 2023.
I didn’t know that stat as I was trudging through the local mall this past weekend, but it wouldn't have surprised me. Wall to wall, as far as the eye could see, was stuff: gifts, gewgaws, fripperies, gauds, baubles, tech, and tat.
Holly/jolly music shrilled hysterically over the sound system. Miles of garland draped railings. Fake plastic trees crowded alcoves and stood jauntily atop clustered plinths, each tree made of petroleum byproducts and festooned with gimmicky ornaments also made of petroleum products.
...plastic trees leave a permanent footprint on our planet, whereas real trees provide benefits both during and after the life of the tree. While it might seem like a reusable plastic tree would be better for the environment than a live one that needs to be cut down every year, this is in fact not the case.
The fast fashion outlets were doing an incredibly brisk business as customers filled their bags with cheap holiday hoodies, fun shoes, sparkly scarves and holiday sweaters.
In 2021, the World Economic Forum identified the fashion industry and its supply chain as the world’s third-largest polluter. On average, it releases 10% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions annually. Per year, the industry contributes 1.2 billion tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. By the year 2030, it is predicted that total greenhouse gas emissions will increase by 50%.
The Verizon store was also doing a land office business, as was Best Buy, where gaming consoles were flying off the shelves.
Over half of the world’s population owns a smartphone according to recent statistic. But the multi-function devices that have become a permanent fixture in our palms leave a trail of environmental pollution and a largely overlooked carbon footprint.
...and…
In the US alone, gamers generate 24 million tons of carbon dioxide emissions per year, according to a Project Drawdown report. Game makers aren't ignorant of what's happening.
All over the developed world, people are buying, buying, buying in an orgiastic frenzy centered on a bastardized consumer fever dream of merry-happy-holly-jolly-Santa-Chrimbo-elves-and-sleigh-and-goodness-knows-what-other-insane-iconography that vomits up a seemingly limitless tonnage of STUFF during this winter holiday season.
All of it requires energy to produce. Much of it requires petroleum byproducts to produce. Much of it will be re-gifted and/or eventually thrown away — or be worn once and discarded — or be used a couple of times until it breaks and is then discarded.
Arguably even worse is the fact that much of the tonnage of unnecessary, energy-guzzling-to-produce gifts will be conveyed to family and friends on an airplane, as Americans make plans to fly somewhere for the holiday.
Industry lobby group Airlines for America says that 2.8 million passengers will fly each day overall during the holiday rush, representing a 16% increase in the number of holiday fliers over 2022.
All of this is arguably grotesque in the context of our changing climate. But none of it is surprising. And it is a loud, jingly, tinselly reminder that, while Christmas giving is obviously not the cause of the climate crisis, the behavior we display this season — relentless, greedy consumption — IS.
Humans are notoriously bad at reining ourselves in. It must be a result of some atavistic, evolutionarily-driven need to accumulate and acquire and to assure ourselves that we will have enough, that there will be plenty, and that the long frozen wolves won’t stalk our campfires this winter season.
Whatever the impetus for this mad whirl of consumption, the cost to our climate is devastating. And yet we appear to be doing nothing to stop ourselves.
A few of us here and there — and many of us who gather here on DK — do voluntarily constrain our consumption. (Our own inimitable Gardening Toad has compiled a list of links that not only encourage us to take action toward a resilient, regenerative, and equitable culture, but show us beautiful examples of the way our world could be. Their list of INDIVIDUAL ACTIONS that one can take is impressive, long, and comprehensive.)
But I am afraid that we are too close to too many tipping points to be able to rely on individual action. If we’d all joined in 30 years ago? Perhaps. Now? It looks increasingly likely that individual actions, even summed over many thousands of people, will not have the massive effect necessary to slow our rising emissions.
The word ‘collapse’ is bandied about quite a bit these days… but societal collapse may, indeed, be an outcome of our heedless inability to rein ourselves in and start reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
The sober, stodgy UN declared last year that the world is close to irreversible climate breakdown. Research published in September 2022 found:
...five dangerous climate tipping points may already have been passed due to the global heating caused by humanity to date, including the collapse of Greenland’s ice cap, with another five possible with 1.5C of heating.
This is terrifying, and should spur all of us to immediate action! Yes, I include individual actions. At this point, what do we have to lose? Every hand to the pump — every shoulder to the wheel — and we are all in this together.
But we should also BE TAKING ACTION TO demand much MORE from the government.
I will elide the discussion of the November 2024 election. We all know that for the sake of our climate (not to mention our democracy and a stable world order) Donald Trump must be defeated.
But what are our plans for a next Biden term, or a Harris term, or two?
Where climate is concerned I suggest we call on POTUS to declare a climate emergency and begin an immediate system of rationing — of gas, oil, meat, car buying, fast fashion consumption, and more.
We can’t control ourselves one by one: we just can’t. But we can collectively decide that the best course of forward action is to make society-wide sacrifices for the common good. And we can enlist our Democratic politicians to enact the emergency measures necessary — if we put enough pressure on them.
The pressure will have to be immense, of course. Our usual tactics of climate marches and sending postcards will no longer do. We have to step up. We have to put ourselves on the line and just say NO to business as usual. Not all of us can participate, but for those of us who can, I urge you now to throw yourselves on the barricades with me. We are the ones we have been waiting for.
It is time for a climate revolution. And that time is running out.
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-Kira Thomsen-Cheek
Twitter: @KiraOnClimate
- Asking did not work.
- Voting did not work.
- Marching did not work.
- Emissions keep going up.
#ClimateRevolution