According to this view, the real problem is not overpopulation but overconsumption. Affluence- that's having lots of money and owning many things, has become a big factor in climate change, and that's true in poorer countries as well as richer ones.
Listen to Rajesh Joshi, reporter for BBC World Service's, The Climate Question, interviewing a rich Indian housewife, Priti Dhagen, in her luxurious home in New Delhi.
I need everything that I buy. You cannot be judgemental about anybody's needs, and I derive a lot of happiness out of being very, very drawn towards consumer things, and I love it. And I'm not apologetic about it.
So if I tell you that poor people have a smaller carbon footprint as compared to their richer counterparts, do you feel apologetic about it?
So the brain says yes, we should be apologetic about it, but the heart does not agree. Yes, poor canf't afford lots of stuff so their carbon imprint is small, but here my heart wins over my brain because it geives me happiness.
Priti does not feel apologetic about her shopping- she doesn't think that she should feel sorry. Shopping makes her happy and she lets her heart rule her head- an idiom meaning that you do something based on emotions rather than reason.
Priti is being very honest, She is consuming and looking for happiness in a way that people in the west have been doing for decades.
It seems overconsumption is a bigger cause of climate change than raw population numbers. Speaking of which... what was the answer to your question, Sam?
Ah yes.. I asked about the current global population. You guessed it was around eight billion people which was... the correct answer! According to the United Nations, the world's population reached eight billion on November 15, 2022. Right, let's recap the vocabulary we've learned, staring with carbon footprint- a measurement of how much carbon dioxide someone's activities produce.
If you crunch numbers, you perform many mathematical calculations involving large amounts of data.
Mod cons is short for 'modern conveniences'- machines like cars, washing-machines, and fridges which make life easier and more pleasant.
Affluence means having lots of money or material possessions.
If you are apologetic, you show that you feel sorry for something harmful you have said or done.
And finally, the idiom let your heart rule your head means to do something based on emotion and personal desires rather than for logical or practical reasons.
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