Minutes of Third OFC Meeting
OFC Meeting 3 --> here
Philip's notes:
These are a mixture of comments by Roland and Jane and others, and my own thoughts at the meeting.
Roland led off by asking if anyone present could say they don't have enough stuff -- no one could say that they don't have enough. As he said, with the industrial revolution the general population went from having just the bare necessities of stuff to much more, for better or for worse. Our desire for more and more stuff is driven by marketing by all the corporations looking to expand their output. One idea is to try to change the legal and tax system so corporations profit from producing products that last longer and are more easily repairable, and otherwise reducing the need to keep buying. Also reuse and recycling need to be made more profitable to both consumers and corporations.
One encouraging sign is that younger people seem less interested in acquiring stuff (though we shall see if this continues as they have families). It is becoming more difficult for older people to find younger relatives to take their stuff. One reason for younger people acquiring less stuff is that they are spending more time virtually, on their smartphones and tablets. Another is that they have more environmental awareness.
Roland concluded that we need to be citizens, not just consumers.
Jane observed it is hard to part with stuff that are part of memories we want to hold on to. And I agree we should not let that stuff go.
Besides virtual experiences such as reading ebooks rather than print books, we can substitute services and experiences for acquiring stuff. Doug said he spends more of his money on experiences such as travel rather than acquiring stuff -- in fact he said he could put most of his possessions in his car. Another person at the meeting pointed out that to reduce our stuff we need to divide it into three categories: beautiful, useful or having sentimental value, and then giving away, selling or recycling the rest.
As Roland pointed out, fossil fuels enabled the Industrial Revolution and the proliferation of stuff -- and its phasing out may help with the general reduction of unnecessary stuff.
One person wondered why corporate board members don't act more responsibly and I wondered why students don't worry more about climate change, pollution, resource depletion and other concerns for their future. Another person disagreed with this view and said that the Kielburger brothers address just those issues and have a large younger audience.
