Overconsumption

This week we carried out an activity on overconsumption in the Mihai Eminescu National College schools.

Using a Mentimeter, a tool that students appreciate, we were interested in their definition of the term, its causes and their tips for limiting it. The idea was to understand why the problem persisted, despite the observation of a collective desire for change. Through an exercise of synthesizing press articles, we then addressed several of the themes related to the subject. Whether through omnipresent advertising, fueling the culture of consumption, then lobbying, we tried to become aware of how our purchasing habits were an integral part of the problem.

For example, how a CapriSun petition appearing on the surface to want to reverse the EU ban on plastic straws actually seeks to promote their new polypropylene water bottle, as well as and above all, to open the Overton window: is it really reasonable to market 6 billion individual single-use plastic bottles each year? After summarizing, the students presented what they had understood from it in groups so that everyone could benefit from learning from their article. Finally the majority had understood the underlying issues.

We look forward to discussing with them other important themes related to ecology but also more broadly to sustainable development, such as the growing demand for rare earth in our consumption patterns, as well as the impact of the choice of our supply sources’ choices.