I also wrote in my previous posting how troubling I find consumerism (which is often most easily measured by numbers). Part of my trouble with consumerism is my own vulnerability to it. But the other reason is because I see a world pursuing it without reservation and I can see where that will inevitably lead. That's why I believe that economics will be as great a factor in the fulfillment of Biblical end-time prophecies as religion or politics. Just bear in mind that the original meaning of "consume" is to destroy.
So when I discovered the following photographs produced by Chris Jordan as a unique visual and statistical perspective of contemporary American culture, I found them compelling in a completely new way than all the scrolling numbers in the statometer at the bottom of my blog! They gave me visual images of the statistics of consumerism -- images that wowed me. They gave me a visual impression of how much money we spend on so much discretional stuff while so much of the world struggles just to provide for their basic needs. Take a look!
As you view the images below, you can click on any image to see it full-sized.
Photo below: 2 million plastic beverage bottles, the number used in the US every 5 minutes

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Photo below: 426,000 cell phones -- the number of cell phones retired in the US every day

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Photo below: 106,000 aluminum cans, the number used in the US every thirty seconds

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Photo below: 410,000 paper cups, the number of disposable hot-beverage paper cups used in the US every fifteen minutes.

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Photo below: 60,000 plastic bags, the number used in the US every five seconds

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Photo below: 30,000 reams of office paper, or 15 million sheets, equal to the amount of office paper used in the US every five minutes

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2 comments:
106,000 cans every 30 seconds? Unreal. How will our planet survive us?
It won't.
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