American Resource Usage
The United States of America makes up a little less than 5% of the population of the world but consumes nearly 27% of all the resources of the world. When it comes to household spending, we account for one third of all expenditures in the world. Imagine that, we make up less than five people out of every hundred but use up the resources of 33 people.
It is difficult to comprehend. Why do we need so much, and do we? With our paltry less than 5% of the world population, why do we consume over one quarter of the world’s fossil fuel resources? 2.8 billion people on this planet struggle to survive on less than $2 per day. In 1961, the average person in the industrial world consumed 10% more calories daily than the average person in the developing world consumes today.
If that is hard to imagine, think of the last time you went to bed hungry and know that millions of children in this world do that every night. What would you do if your children ate mud cookies at night to fill up their tummies? That happens all over Africa.
It is time all of us people of the world who are blessed be cognizant of the needs of the many. Are we satisfying those needs? We all must try to curb our consumption. If the wealthiest nations of the world cannot diminish our needs, we will surely strip the world of so many resources that the societies coming in our wake will never be able to develop. We will have effectively cut off their ladder of evolution when it comes to progress.
How can we curb our desires in this materialistic world? America spends more on happiness than any other country in the world and yet on happiness scales, we are the most unhappy. Why is that? Money doesn’t contribute to happiness and yet we as parents always hold out rewards for our youngsters when they are doing something unpleasant, like going to the dentist or doctor. “If you’re good Johnny or Susie, I’ll buy you an ice cream cone when we’re done.” We are already teaching them the way to obesity. Reward yourself with food for everything.
We need to develop moral constraints of using less and we need to begin teaching this to our children. Otherwise, how will the world develop and survive? Will we be a world with only a small percentage who have everything and are fighting off the rest of the world trying to preserve what we have?
Look deeply everybody. Look in some of those difficult to find places that seem so inaccessible to many of us, our hearts.
God bless America and God bless you all from the Maverick Doctor,
Rick R. Redalen, M.D.
Pick up a copy of my book “God’s Tiniest Angel and the Last Unicorn,” available on Amazon.
Dr. Rick is a retired American physician, entrepreneur and philanthropist who has done mission work around the country and around the world. He is now on a mission to improve healthcare in America. Visit maverickdoctor.com or email him at rickr@maverickdoctor.com.