The Great Barrier Reef: Social Analysis

Consumerism leads to self-gratification and the loss of life’s important values such as friendship, love and religion; this is an ever-growing issue that manipulates and deceives society and has done so since the beginning of the technological age.

Surrounding the Great Barrier Reef are the aboriginal inhabitants and Torres Strait Islanders. Their connection goes back for 60,000 years. There are 70 tribes across the Great Barrier Reef relying on the reef but are experiencing major problems, pollution and mining.

These can be simple activities such as turning off the water while brushing your teeth or simply walking to work. We can also be more mindful about how much trash we make in a week and to always recycle. Although no amount of recycling will forestall the end that God has planned for the earth, we are still called to preserve earth’s natural resources to the best of our capability. Psalm 24:1 (New International Version) states, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.” This passage teaches us that although God gives people the power to utilize elements of the environment, God is still the ultimate owner of all of his creations. Therefore, we are called to respect his creations because they are not ours but God’s.

Consumer culture today is thriving – but not necessarily in a good way. As consumer culture thrives, we have desires for products and services. Consumer spending is a major part of a country’s/world’s economy and that makes the economy strong but the aftermath is an unsustainable lifestyle. Although, Wall-E didn’t indicate exactly what caused consumers to destroy the planet and then flee for the sake of human survival, there are many guesses that can be made as to how it happened. One of the major points made in class during week eight was the fact that the world is becoming overpopulated. This major issue can possibly be

One environmental issues posted on the Facebook group on Ecologically Conscious Social is climate change’s effect impacts on the Great Barrier Reef where is one of the UNESCO world heritage sites. The Great Barrier Reef is located in Queensland, state of Australia.

Zygmunt Bauman is the writer and author of consuming life and liquid modernity. He is among the pioneering founders of the post-modernism theory that is characteristic of most theories in sociology and philosophy. The concepts and positions posited by Baunam will be heavily relied upon in the composition of this essay – albeit subject to diverse opinions in analysis and with reliance of critique that is presented from various avenues such as contradictory theories to those of the author. In consuming life, Bauman asserts that consumerism has surpassed the mundane quality of consumption. This means that human advancement has led to the quintessential disorder where consumerism coerces humans into lukewarm and superficial meeting of needs and desires, as opposed to consumption which was individualistic in nature and self-gratifying. Individuality is the opposite of consumerism. Bauman attests that desires and life of worth can be attained only from egoistic search of satisfaction. However, individualistic system and egoism cannot push societies to prosperity and advancement. Insofar as consumerism contorts human culture and introduces dangers of ideology and religion, it is only through consumerism that advances in humanity and advancement that man can utilize ideologies such as capitalism, laissez faire conditions, international trade, diplomacy, and other diverse attributes in transforming human culture.

In the article titled 'Why Salvation is not Stuff,' Anna Quindlen uses multiple examples, statistics, and personal experiences to clarify her position on the topic of the culture of the consumer. Although the author did not directly state how she believes in this era people are creating a cycle of debt through electronics and discounted toys, Quindlen begins the essay with an example which effects the author emotionally. In addition, she clarifies not only her position, but also how she believes the reader should feel, too. Next, the author uses a story from her own experience to prove how the generation of the past relied solely on the present financial circumstances, rather than how the economy today relies on plastic credit cards. This then gives the reader a sense of respect for the value of even oranges 50-60 years ago because the items were earned rather than received when demanded.

The Great Barrier Reef is one of the most beloved regions of the world but due to recent human activity in surrounding areas and subsequent sediment delivery, coral and seagrass habits within are being negatively impacted. Extending 2000km along the North-eastern Australian coast (Brodie et al., 2007), the Great Barrier Reef is a major source of income for Northern Australia and fuels the growth of local businesses. As industrialization in areas adjacent to the Great Barrier Reef lagoon have increased since European settlement (McCulloch et al., 2003), the need for more resources to compensate for human population has led to harmful land practices such as overstocking and deforestation for cattle grazing inland. These are causing a significant

The term consumer society goes beyond the mere act of shopping and the functional use of goods with contemporary

Some people argue that it is acceptable for people in the United States to consume at high levels because their consumerism keeps the world economy going. What are the weaknesses in this idea? Although America’s consumerism may seem to help the economy of less fortunate countries, this rampant depletion has become financially and ecologically unsustainable. Globally, 86% of consumption expenditures comes from the 20% of the world’s people in first world countries, while the poorest 20% account for only a meager 14%. It seems that consumption has become a function of our culture. Only by generating and selling goods does capitalism currently work; and the more produced and purchased the more we have progress and prosperity.

For over 25 million years, the Great Barrier Reef has lived off of the northeastern coast of Australia. The first human civilizations started around 5,000 years ago and industrialization of humans about 200 years ago (History of Humans, 2016). The human race’s timeline is just a small fraction in comparison to the reefs, but somehow humanity has managed completely derail mother nature in an incomprehensible amount of ways. Healthwise, the Great Barrier Reef is in the worst shape of its life and which just so happens to match ever so nicely with the rapid pandemic of global warming that has increased over the past couple of decades. The rise in air temperature is gradually increasing the ocean 's temperature as well which is causing colossal damage to Great Barrier Reef and reefs across the globe. If we do not take action immediately in reducing our planet’s rising temperature and ever increasing CO2, it will soon be too late to save this natural wonder as well as the countless organism that call it home.

Hunger for luxury items and people’s strife for the brands and items they associate with being beyond reach is paramount for this system. It is this drive for items one can’t have that the author feels is one of the benefits of consumerism. He declares, “…the aspiration of the poor to

The issue I’ve identified throughout these chapters was the high cost of materialism and how human beings value objects and money more than anything else. A solution to such a problem can be recognized through a materialist perspective in a social world.

In the Great Barrier Reef, the debris of sediments, nutrients and pesticides used for farming purposes pollute the water which causes damage to many coral and seagrass species. To reduce the effects of water pollution, an individual can make simple switches in their day to day life. They can use environmentally friendly fertilisers and cleaners instead of harsh chemicals on their lawns and in sinks and drains.

Consumption, we describe as the act of meeting basic needs with material goods and the practice of consuming as a way of life is ‘consumerism’ ( Kennedy 173). The ideology that the meaning of life is found in buying things has really caused majority to spend almost their monthly salary on goods and services in search of utility. This excessive recreational spending also plays a part in increase of inflation, also has made more money in circulation.