Center for New American Dream works toward less materialistic society

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Friday, 8 March 2002 16:37:47 -0400

" Mark Graffis " <mgraffis

The Center for a New American Dream works toward a less materialistic

society

 

Friday, March 08, 2002

By Brian Howard, E/The Environmental Magazine

 

Your neighbors are expanding their house, the driveway across the street is

starting to look like a luxury car lot, and your kid's room is filling up with

video game cartridges, $150 sneakers, and bean-filled toys.

 

A Time/CNN poll says 80 percent of people think children are more spoiled today

than the kids of 10 or 15 years ago. American CEOs now make more than 400 times

what their average workers make, and " the top 20 percent of American households

earns nearly as much as the bottom 80 percent, " write John De Graaf, David Wann,

and Thomas Naylor in Affluenza.

 

To obtain such material affluence, the average employed American is now working

more than 47 hours per week and far more hours per year than employees in other

industrialized nations (including Japan), according to the Families and Work

Institute. " Instead of using some of that productivity for leisure, " said Betsy

Taylor, executive director of the Center for a New American Dream (CNAD), " we

shuffle back to work so we can afford more stuff that we don't really need. "

 

CNAD says the United States' growing obsession with acquisition is taking a

heavy toll on the environment. According to the group, since the United States

consumes more energy, water, paper, steel, and meat per capita than any other

country, at least four additional planets would be needed to provide the

American lifestyle to every person on Earth. Meanwhile, old-growth forests are

being lost at alarming rates, farmlands and wetlands are being engulfed by

development,

species are disappearing, and the atmosphere and our oceans are being polluted.

 

In 1996, CNAD grew out of the Merck Foundation and a conference on sustainable

economics. Based in Tacoma Park, Md., the Center's 15 employees observe a

four-day work week designed to cultivate a healthy, progressive atmosphere. The

4,500-member organization avoids mass mailings, and Taylor is " cautiously

optimistic " about her group's budget of $1.7 million.

 

Alisa Gravitz, executive director of Co-op America, said CNAD's clear, specific

programs are excellent ways for people to establish the links between

consumption and the environment. CNAD's Step by Step program promotes

letter-writing and consumer action campaigns to pressure businesses and

institutions to become more sustainable.

 

Participants of the Center's new, Web-based Turn the Tide program follow " nine

little actions " to reduce their personal impact on the environment. CNAD

estimates that if 1,000 people pursue the program for one year, 48.5 million

gallons of water, 170 trees, and 12,250 pounds of sea life will be saved and 4

million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions will be prevented. The actions

include

eliminating lawn and garden pesticides, eating one less beef meal a week, not

eating shrimp, and installing efficient light bulbs. " Most people want to make a

few changes in their lives, and they want to know that their changes matter, "

said Taylor.

 

Taylor said one-fifth of America's spending is done by the public sector, and

she hopes her organization can serve as an information clearinghouse on

responsible procurement. Scott Case, CNAD's director of procurement, said he is

helping about 30 state and local governments with technical assistance and

support.

 

" Many government personnel want to green up their policies, but they have no

idea how to get started, " said Taylor. " Other government employees are buying

hybrid vehicles and pushing for biodegradable materials because they believe in

making a difference. We want to help everyone make good choices. "

 

To counter children's growing lust for too many toys, gifts, and gadgets, Tracey

Fisher is leading the Kids and Commercialism Campaign. A poll conducted by CNAD

found that although two-thirds of parents claim their children care about the

environment, more than 70 percent of parents say their children don't think

buying too much stuff will degrade the natural world.

 

The Center's campaign presents action plans for parents, including how to

protect kids from excessive advertising. Americans are now bombarded by more

than 1,500 commercial messages a day, up from 560 a day during the 1960s,

according to CNAD. Considering the $3 billion spent each year on ads directed at

kids, more than 20 times the amount spent a decade ago, it is not surprising

that nearly half of parents say kids ask for brand names by age 5, writes Time.

 

CNAD charges that advertising has moved beyond the original purpose of gaining

market share to creating a whole desire for more stuff. Ariane Herrera,

communications manager of the American Association of Advertising Agencies, took

exception. " That is a long debated, purely philosophical argument, " she said.

" Companies are just trying to get their products out there any way they can. "

 

Some scholars are critical of the Center's goals and methods. In an article for

the Capital Research Center (a nonprofit group that studies philanthropy and

charitable organizations), Daniel T. Oliver describes the " extremist " CNAD as

" trying to tap into feelings of dissatisfaction that we all feel from time to

time.... to ban or severely restrict our consumption of nearly everything. "

Oliver argues that CNAD tries to coerce people into needlessly changing their

lifestyles through guilt and self-denial. He says there is no evidence that

Americans are less happy or more stressed than ever, and he claims that many of

CNAD's recommendations (such as for organic food) are insensitive to poor

people. Oliver writes, " When it comes to Christmas, CNAD thinks like Ebenezer

Scrooge and acts

like the Grinch. "

 

But Ian Vasquez, director of the libertarian Cato Institute's Project on Global

Economic Liberty, and Ray Bruce, president of the Consumer Protection

Association of America, said they support CNAD's efforts to help consumers use

their buying power to reflect their own personal values. Taylor and Gravitz said

CNAD's programs are designed for people who can afford to do them. They believe

decreases in consumption will lead to greater economic equality in the future.

Taylor

said her group hopes to " shift consumption away from the most destructive

industries and toward beautiful, satisfying, sustainable products that create

good jobs. "

 

According to Gravitz, the biggest challenge facing CNAD is the difficulty of

change for people. " It will take time for people to accept that sustainable

economics will give everyone better paying jobs, better satisfaction, more money

and more free time, " she said.

 

Copyright 2002, E/The Environmental Magazine

 

 

 

 

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