Notre société de consommation est-elle hostile à la protection de l'environnement (document en anglais)

Our consumer society appears unsympathetic to environmental protection.

Indeed, the increase in production and consumption has inevitable consequences such as: selling out of natural resources, higher energy consumption, more household and industrial rubbish, more greenhouse gas emissions, and global warming. A consumer society produces new technological products every day, but the process of production is very polluting. Moreover, the consumer society constantly searches for new ways of increasing production, which in turn increases risks for the deterioration of the environment.

As a matter of fact, the protection of the environment is never incompatible with the needs of our consumer society. Since well-to-do countries usually have the highest ecological footprint, it is fitting that environmental protection should be more the preoccupation of these countries. Since our economy has the advantage of providing for the nation's primary needs, certain funds should be used for environmental conservation. Our economy can prosper in the long run without damaging our natural resources. Production and business could actually be beneficial to the environment. In fair trade, for instance, a part of the benefits of the sales should be reinvested in development projects for the poor and for environmental conservation.

In my opinion, it is only our own initiative to keep a balance between economic growth and the preservation of natural resources that can protect the environment It is actually possible to maintain a harmony between industrialization and conservation.

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