How can we convince the richest 20% of humanity to half their ecological impacts by 2012?

The richest 20% degrade their own and everybody else’s quality of life, so stand to gain from reducing their impact, they are perceived as role models by large parts of the global population, and they started the problems associated with excessive consumption, so should take the lead in implementing available solutions urgently.

3 comments

1. Alastair says:

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   This question is the “Elephant in the Room”. Even those who admit that global warming is caused by Man seem to be unaware that all our wealth comes from the energy created by burning fossil fuels. Reducing, or even stabilising, the greenhouse effect will require a reduchtion in our consumption.

   We will have to become poorer, either in a managed and shared way, or it will be imposed on us by a collapes of agriculture followed inevitably by a breakdown in civilisation.
2. 237_CHANIN says:

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   The only solution is to develop a new approach of the notion of well being where ethics and spiritual values are put forwards. I believe it is possible.
3. Joyashree says:

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   It is true demonstration effect is important. So far more goods and services production and consumption has been identified with growth and progress. This paradigm still drives human activity. Now the greatest challenge is to develop a rationale and evolve steps to demonstrate that high consumption and matching production are not the means for achieving human well being.