Downshifting VS Malthusianism.

As our planet looks more and more like a dump, some people have decided to react to the overconsumption phenomenon and to start exploring other ways to save our planet. This article is about two alternatives to the destruction of our planet.

One of them is the downshifting way of life, the other is the malthusianist theory applied to environmental issues.

Downshifting or Downsizing.

(This is not an exhaustive summary of the downsizing way of life, but just a glimpse of what it can be...)

Downshifting or downsizing (both words have the same meaning), is not a new phenomenon. Far from it. It is a concept that goes way back in time, but that is now starting to spread out a little in the occidental world (in France it is known as "décroissance", in Canada as "simplicité volontaire"). Media finally look at them not as marginals but more as precursors.
In the whole environment frenzy, it is about time people look up to Downshifters instead of looking down at them.

Their point of view is simple, and goes from an obvious fact : economic growth cannot continue eternally. Downsizers think that the accumulation of goods is not a way to improve one's wellness and everyday life. On the contrary, when living in a world of frenetic consumption, you just forget who you are, who the ones you love are, and who the others are.

The whole thing is about taking time. Take time to live, take time to be who you are and who you want to be. Start living a simpler, healthier life and reduce your own impact on the environment.

In the beginning is a principle : less-is-more. As you reduce your consumption of various goods, you reduce your impact on the environment. Downshifters do their best to be as environment-friendly as they can. It is about recycling, thinking of others and thinking of oneself.

For those living in the countryside, it might be a little easier : starting to grow your own vegetables, organically, use only what you need in water, start thinking renewable energy such as solar power cells, stop throwing whatever you can in the trash can, all that is biodegradable is used for composting and then fertilizing crops, etc.

I've put up a short video which shows what the life of downsizers in the country can be. It was found on youtube, and deals with a bunch of Italian downsizers. Watch, enjoy and feel free to leave a comment if you feel so.



Saying that it is easier to be a downsizer in the country, doesn't mean it is not possible to start being one in the city.

Okay, growing artichokes, carrots and potatoes on your balcony (if you are lucky enough to have one) might be a little hard, but it might be time to think about something else to act for environment.
As an example, why not start with food and favour organic food instead of non-organic (unfortunately, organic food is still a little too expensive for my own means).
You can also start thinking about lowering your power consumption: using low energy light bulbs, turning off appliances you don't use instead of leaving them on standby.
As for water, you can take showers instead of filling the bathtub to the top.

Combining simple acts is already a move towards helping to lead a healthier, more environment friendly life. Lots of thing can be done to be less dependant on energy. Into the bargain, it is also a way to save some money.

As for myself, I cannot say that I am a downsizer, but that is something that I find really fascinating, as well as definitively tempting . Everybody knows the earth's resources are not eternal, and it is highly about time we reflect on alternatives to the way of living we have now.
I hope someday I can really start with being one, in the country, but at the moment I can only try to be as environment friendly as I can, in the city.

Malthusianism.

Malthusianism applied to the environmental issue is the alibi for my post (actually, what would a post in this blogg be if it wasn't to show something I find a little fucked up?..).

For those who wouldn't know what malthusianism is in the beginning, here is a short cut to the economical theory : Malthus thought, on the verge of the eighteenth and the nineteenth century, that there was a strong dichotomy between the growth of population, and the growth of food-supply. The first one grows in a geometric rate (i.e. 1, 2, 4, 8, 16), whereas the second one grows following an arithmetic rate (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 etc.). This dichotomy is the base of the malthusian theory, of which the main point was to help less the poor (and eventually encourage them to have less children) to stress less the government funds. But this is another story.

Today has the malthusian theory found an echo in a certain category of ecologists (and I even began to wonder if they really were ecologists). Their point is to encourage people to have less people to stress less the Earth's resources. Given that we are being more and more, and that our resources grows smaller and smaller, the idea would be to get people to have less babies. Babies are bad. Babies contaminate. Etc.

It is true that I would love to see less mothers pushing buggies equipped like they would soon be off to the Paris-Dakar. And I'm quite tired to see those mothers wander in the streets thinking that the entire side walk is theirs. And that I should make way for them.

And it is true that I would love to set up a trade market like the one about greenhouse effect gas existing since the Kyoto protocol in 1997 (and effective since 2005). I could trade my own children non-desire against some extra money.

Wouldn't that be heaven?

Seriously. My opinion about all that is that malthusianism doesn't really help to find new ways to save the earth, but more to find a way to slow down the disappearing of resources. It feels more like a way to preserve our way of living a little longer than to start something new, from scratch. As I regard it, it is only a disguised way to a conservative reflexion, or how to accuse the poor, who, of course have large families, to be the cause for all the trouble. Clever.

Here is an article I found on the internet that I thought relevant. From my point of view, of course.
http://www.twnside.org.sg/title/malthus.htm
It gives an overview of the issue i tried to deal about.

Now I'd like to know what you think about all that. Agree? Disagree? Feel free to comment.