In Peter Dauvergene’s book, The Shadows of Consumption, he lays out several case studies showing how we have come to love is such a unsustainable environment. The first of these is the rise of automobiles: how and why they came to be so prevalent in our modern society, and how they have so negatively impacted the environment. In this map you will see how capitalist values, consumer behaviors, and economic and political pressures led to cars becoming widespread and necessary for daily life. In this map, much like the one on colonial New England, one can see how values lead to actions and changes that directly cause and exasperate an unsustainable system. The case also provides a cautionary tale. Without decreased consumption, decreasing the environmental impact of a commodity will still lead to an unsustainable future (Dauvergne, 2010).

Definitions:

Presentism: A way of thinking that cares only about current issues and concerns.

Positive Feedback Loop: A loop in which every time it is completed, the effects get worse and worse.

Externalities: Consequences of actions that are not directly felt by those who do said actions.

Sources

Dauvergne, Peter. The Shadows of Consumption: Consequences for the Global Environment. MIT Press, 2010.