less is more
Posted: Wed Nov 21, 2007 7:13 am
Is this the American Dream?
Despite the astounding economic growth between 1958 and 1980, Americans reported feeling significantly less well-off in 1980 than they had 22 years before.
Americans reporting that they were "very happy" were no more numerous in 1991 than in 1957.
Percentage of 18 to 29 year-olds who think they have a very good chance of achieving "the good life":
1978: 41%
1993: 21 %
Rise in per capita consumption in the U.S. in the last 20 years: 45%
Decrease in quality of life in the U.S. since 1970, as measured by the index of Social Health: 51%
Percentage of Americans who feel the American Dream is very much alive:
1986: 32%
1990: 23%
More - is it really better?
In 1992 people were, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than their great-grandparents at the turn of the century
Compared to their parents in 1950, people in the U.S. in 1991 owned twice as many cars and drove 2.5 times as far.
Amount of time the average working American spent behind the wheel in 1991:
9 hours per week
Increase in average daily TV viewing since 1960: 39%
American parents spent 40% less time with their children in 1991 than they did in 1965.
Employed Americans spent 163 hours more per year on the job in 1991 than they did in 1969.
Percentage of college freshmen who reported thinking it is essential to be well off financially:
1967: 44%
1987: 76%
Percentage of college freshmen who reported thinking it is essential to develop a philosophy of life:
1967: 83%
1987: 39%
Median size of a new house built in the U.S.:
1949: 1,100 sq ft
1970: 1,385 sq ft
1993: 2,060 sq ft
Residential space per American:
1950: 312 sq ft
1993: 742 sq ft
Number of Americans with two or more homes in 1991: 10 million
Number of homeless Americans in 1991: a minimum of 300,000
Shopping fever
Number of advertisements American teenagers are typically exposed to by the time they graduate from high school: 360,000
Amount of time the average American will spend watching TV commercials: one entire year of his or her life
Percentage of American teenage girls who report store-hopping as favorite activity: 93%
Year in which the number of shopping centers in the U.S. (32,563) surpassed the number of high schools: 1987
Average time spent shopping per week: 6 hours
Time spent playing with children per week: 40 minutes
About 53% of grocery and 47% of hardware store purchases are spur of the moment.
Percentage of shoppers surveyed across the country who were shopping for a specific item: only 25%
Americans can choose from:
over 25,000 supermarket items
200 kinds of cereal
11,092 magazines
How much we waste
The waste generated each year in the U.S. would fill a convoy of 10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 miles long -- over halfway to the moon.
By the time a baby born the United States reaches age 75, he or she will have
produced 52 tons of garbage,
consumed 43 million gallons of water
and used 3,375 barrels of oil.
Proportion of houseware bought to replace worn-out items:
1981: 2/3 to 3/4
1987: less than 1/2
For packaging (cans, bottles, cartons, etc.) alone, the U.S. uses approximately:
50% of its paper
75% of its glass
40% of its aluminum and
30% of its plastics.
Amount of motor oil sent to landfills or poured down drains in the U.S. each year:
180 million gallons -- the equivalent of 16 Exxon Valdez spills.
Questioning the dream
Percentage of Americans who say they have achieved the American Dream:
those earning less than $15,000 a year: 5%
those earning more than $50,000 a year: 6%
Highest income group in U.S.: doctors
Professions with highest proportion of unhappy people: doctors and lawyers
Percentage of American workers who report feeling "used up" by the end of the workday: 42%
Percentage of women who said "enough money" would persuade them to stop working permanently:
1987: 35%
1990: 56%
(Presumably both men and women are also interested in putting in less time and taking less money, as semi-retired people choose to do)
Percentage of Americans who would like to "slow down and live a more relaxed life": 69%
Percentage of Americans who would like a "more exciting, faster-paced life": 19%
Is our dream a nightmare for others?
Percentage of the word's population comprised of Americans: 5%
Percentage of the world's resources consumed by Americans: 30%
The amount of energy used by one American is equivalent to that used by:
3 Japanese
6 Mexicans
14 Chinese
38 Indians
168 Bengalis
531 Ethiopians
A person in the U.S. causes 100 times more damage to the global environment
than a person in a poor country.
Percentage of fossil fuel used annually that is consumed by the U.S.: 25%
Percentage of all humans who own a car: 8%
Percentage of American households who own one or more cars: 89%
Average annual income of the 3.3 billion people in the global "middle class": $700 - $7,500
Average annual income of the 1.1 billion people in the global "consumer class": over $7,500
The consumer class takes home 64% of the world's income.
The average amount of pocket money for American children
-- $230 a year --
is more than the total annual income of the world's half-billion poorest people.
Is our dream a nightmare for the earth?
Since 1940 Americans alone have used up as large a share of the earth's mineral resources as all previous generations put together
In the last 200 years the United States has lost:
50% of its wetlands
90% of its northwestern old-growth forests
99% of its tall grass prairie and
up to 490 species of native plants and animals
with another 9,000 now at risk
Minerals due to run out in 50 years: copper, lead, mercury, nickel, tin and zinc
Portion of U.S. water pumped annually from the groundwater supply that is not renewable: one-fifth
Amount of rural land in the United States turned over to development every day: 9 square miles
Number of acres we blacktop each year: 1.3 million acres (equal to the state of Delaware)
Number of acres of cropland we lose to erosion each year: 1 million
Per capita American consumption of soft drinks in 1989: 186 quarts
Per capita American consumption of tap water in 1989: 149 quarts
Total energy consumed in producing a 12-ounce can of diet soda: 2,200 Calories
Total food energy in a 12-ounce can of diet soda:1 Calorie
Within the lifetime of a child born today, virtually all of Earth's petroleum will be burned,
and Earth' s fuel tank will be empty.
Is our dream a nightmare for us?
Value of assets savings that today's average 50 year-old has set aside for Retirement: $2,300
Percentage of disposable personal income in U.S. allotted to savings:
1973: 8.6%
1993: 4.2%
Percentage of disposable income spent on personal debt payments:
1983: 8.6%
1990: 83%
An American baby born in 1992 inherited a portion of the U.S. government debt equal to: $14,813. That portion continues to grow each year.
Average increase in consumer spending when credit cards are used instead of cash: 23%
Increase in consumer debt in the 1980s: 140%
The typical American household carries $8,570 of non-mortgage personal debt.
Number of individuals filing for bankruptcy in 1992: 900,000 -- triple that of 1981
New values, old habits
From a nationwide 1991 survey:
8 out of 10 Americans regarded themselves as "environmentalists" and half of those said they were "strong" ones.
8 out of 10 voters said protecting the environment is generally more important than keeping prices down.
53% said it will take fundamental changes in lifestyle, rather than scientific advances,
to bring about dramatic changes in the environment.
BUT ... Only 46% surveyed said they had actually bought any items based on the environmental reputation of a product or manufacturer within the last 6 months.
AND ... By 51% to 34%, voters thought the need to protect jobs in the U.S. Northwest
was more important than the need to protect the endangered spotted owl, an indicator species linked to healthy forests.
FURTHER ... In 1990 American households had between 50 and 100 pounds of hazardous material that should be disposed of only through recycling or professional waste collection. In 1989, 628 communities across the U.S. had programs to collect hazardous waste.
In 1990, only 1% to 5% of the residents used these programs.
Percentage of Americans in 1990 who believed that a "major national effort" was needed to improve the environment: 78%
Percentage who were actively working toward solutions: 22%
How much does a good life cost?
In the U.S., we use 250 gallons of oil equivalent per person, per year. Europeans use half this amount.
Most Europeans produce less than half the waste per person as the average American.
Possibility that all the world's people could live as Americans do: zero
Number of people that the planet could support living as the Europeans do, with modest but comfortable homes, refrigeration for food, and ready access to public transit, augmented by limited auto use: everyone
Dreaming a new dream
Percentage of Americans earning over $30,000 a year who said they would give up a day's pay each week for a day of free time: 70%
Percentage of Americans earning less than $20,000 a year who said they would make the same pay-for-free-time trade: 48%
Percentage of workers willing to forego raises and promotions to devote more time to their families: 34%
In a 1991 survey of college freshmen:
Percentage saying it is "very important" or "essential" to influence social values: 43%
Percentage saying they took part in demonstrations during their last year in high school: 39%
In a Harris Poll of 1,255 adults in November 1990:
47% were spending less time shopping than five years before the poll.
One of the top ten trends of 1994, according to the Trends Research Institute: voluntary simplicity
Percentage of American workers ages 25 -- 49 who believe that keeping up with the Joneses does anything for the keepers-up: 2%
Percentage of American workers ages 25 -- 49 who would like to see a return to a simpler society with less emphasis on material wealth: 75%
Despite the astounding economic growth between 1958 and 1980, Americans reported feeling significantly less well-off in 1980 than they had 22 years before.
Americans reporting that they were "very happy" were no more numerous in 1991 than in 1957.
Percentage of 18 to 29 year-olds who think they have a very good chance of achieving "the good life":
1978: 41%
1993: 21 %
Rise in per capita consumption in the U.S. in the last 20 years: 45%
Decrease in quality of life in the U.S. since 1970, as measured by the index of Social Health: 51%
Percentage of Americans who feel the American Dream is very much alive:
1986: 32%
1990: 23%
More - is it really better?
In 1992 people were, on average, four-and-a-half times richer than their great-grandparents at the turn of the century
Compared to their parents in 1950, people in the U.S. in 1991 owned twice as many cars and drove 2.5 times as far.
Amount of time the average working American spent behind the wheel in 1991:
9 hours per week
Increase in average daily TV viewing since 1960: 39%
American parents spent 40% less time with their children in 1991 than they did in 1965.
Employed Americans spent 163 hours more per year on the job in 1991 than they did in 1969.
Percentage of college freshmen who reported thinking it is essential to be well off financially:
1967: 44%
1987: 76%
Percentage of college freshmen who reported thinking it is essential to develop a philosophy of life:
1967: 83%
1987: 39%
Median size of a new house built in the U.S.:
1949: 1,100 sq ft
1970: 1,385 sq ft
1993: 2,060 sq ft
Residential space per American:
1950: 312 sq ft
1993: 742 sq ft
Number of Americans with two or more homes in 1991: 10 million
Number of homeless Americans in 1991: a minimum of 300,000
Shopping fever
Number of advertisements American teenagers are typically exposed to by the time they graduate from high school: 360,000
Amount of time the average American will spend watching TV commercials: one entire year of his or her life
Percentage of American teenage girls who report store-hopping as favorite activity: 93%
Year in which the number of shopping centers in the U.S. (32,563) surpassed the number of high schools: 1987
Average time spent shopping per week: 6 hours
Time spent playing with children per week: 40 minutes
About 53% of grocery and 47% of hardware store purchases are spur of the moment.
Percentage of shoppers surveyed across the country who were shopping for a specific item: only 25%
Americans can choose from:
over 25,000 supermarket items
200 kinds of cereal
11,092 magazines
How much we waste
The waste generated each year in the U.S. would fill a convoy of 10-ton garbage trucks 145,000 miles long -- over halfway to the moon.
By the time a baby born the United States reaches age 75, he or she will have
produced 52 tons of garbage,
consumed 43 million gallons of water
and used 3,375 barrels of oil.
Proportion of houseware bought to replace worn-out items:
1981: 2/3 to 3/4
1987: less than 1/2
For packaging (cans, bottles, cartons, etc.) alone, the U.S. uses approximately:
50% of its paper
75% of its glass
40% of its aluminum and
30% of its plastics.
Amount of motor oil sent to landfills or poured down drains in the U.S. each year:
180 million gallons -- the equivalent of 16 Exxon Valdez spills.
Questioning the dream
Percentage of Americans who say they have achieved the American Dream:
those earning less than $15,000 a year: 5%
those earning more than $50,000 a year: 6%
Highest income group in U.S.: doctors
Professions with highest proportion of unhappy people: doctors and lawyers
Percentage of American workers who report feeling "used up" by the end of the workday: 42%
Percentage of women who said "enough money" would persuade them to stop working permanently:
1987: 35%
1990: 56%
(Presumably both men and women are also interested in putting in less time and taking less money, as semi-retired people choose to do)
Percentage of Americans who would like to "slow down and live a more relaxed life": 69%
Percentage of Americans who would like a "more exciting, faster-paced life": 19%
Is our dream a nightmare for others?
Percentage of the word's population comprised of Americans: 5%
Percentage of the world's resources consumed by Americans: 30%
The amount of energy used by one American is equivalent to that used by:
3 Japanese
6 Mexicans
14 Chinese
38 Indians
168 Bengalis
531 Ethiopians
A person in the U.S. causes 100 times more damage to the global environment
than a person in a poor country.
Percentage of fossil fuel used annually that is consumed by the U.S.: 25%
Percentage of all humans who own a car: 8%
Percentage of American households who own one or more cars: 89%
Average annual income of the 3.3 billion people in the global "middle class": $700 - $7,500
Average annual income of the 1.1 billion people in the global "consumer class": over $7,500
The consumer class takes home 64% of the world's income.
The average amount of pocket money for American children
-- $230 a year --
is more than the total annual income of the world's half-billion poorest people.
Is our dream a nightmare for the earth?
Since 1940 Americans alone have used up as large a share of the earth's mineral resources as all previous generations put together
In the last 200 years the United States has lost:
50% of its wetlands
90% of its northwestern old-growth forests
99% of its tall grass prairie and
up to 490 species of native plants and animals
with another 9,000 now at risk
Minerals due to run out in 50 years: copper, lead, mercury, nickel, tin and zinc
Portion of U.S. water pumped annually from the groundwater supply that is not renewable: one-fifth
Amount of rural land in the United States turned over to development every day: 9 square miles
Number of acres we blacktop each year: 1.3 million acres (equal to the state of Delaware)
Number of acres of cropland we lose to erosion each year: 1 million
Per capita American consumption of soft drinks in 1989: 186 quarts
Per capita American consumption of tap water in 1989: 149 quarts
Total energy consumed in producing a 12-ounce can of diet soda: 2,200 Calories
Total food energy in a 12-ounce can of diet soda:1 Calorie
Within the lifetime of a child born today, virtually all of Earth's petroleum will be burned,
and Earth' s fuel tank will be empty.
Is our dream a nightmare for us?
Value of assets savings that today's average 50 year-old has set aside for Retirement: $2,300
Percentage of disposable personal income in U.S. allotted to savings:
1973: 8.6%
1993: 4.2%
Percentage of disposable income spent on personal debt payments:
1983: 8.6%
1990: 83%
An American baby born in 1992 inherited a portion of the U.S. government debt equal to: $14,813. That portion continues to grow each year.
Average increase in consumer spending when credit cards are used instead of cash: 23%
Increase in consumer debt in the 1980s: 140%
The typical American household carries $8,570 of non-mortgage personal debt.
Number of individuals filing for bankruptcy in 1992: 900,000 -- triple that of 1981
New values, old habits
From a nationwide 1991 survey:
8 out of 10 Americans regarded themselves as "environmentalists" and half of those said they were "strong" ones.
8 out of 10 voters said protecting the environment is generally more important than keeping prices down.
53% said it will take fundamental changes in lifestyle, rather than scientific advances,
to bring about dramatic changes in the environment.
BUT ... Only 46% surveyed said they had actually bought any items based on the environmental reputation of a product or manufacturer within the last 6 months.
AND ... By 51% to 34%, voters thought the need to protect jobs in the U.S. Northwest
was more important than the need to protect the endangered spotted owl, an indicator species linked to healthy forests.
FURTHER ... In 1990 American households had between 50 and 100 pounds of hazardous material that should be disposed of only through recycling or professional waste collection. In 1989, 628 communities across the U.S. had programs to collect hazardous waste.
In 1990, only 1% to 5% of the residents used these programs.
Percentage of Americans in 1990 who believed that a "major national effort" was needed to improve the environment: 78%
Percentage who were actively working toward solutions: 22%
How much does a good life cost?
In the U.S., we use 250 gallons of oil equivalent per person, per year. Europeans use half this amount.
Most Europeans produce less than half the waste per person as the average American.
Possibility that all the world's people could live as Americans do: zero
Number of people that the planet could support living as the Europeans do, with modest but comfortable homes, refrigeration for food, and ready access to public transit, augmented by limited auto use: everyone
Dreaming a new dream
Percentage of Americans earning over $30,000 a year who said they would give up a day's pay each week for a day of free time: 70%
Percentage of Americans earning less than $20,000 a year who said they would make the same pay-for-free-time trade: 48%
Percentage of workers willing to forego raises and promotions to devote more time to their families: 34%
In a 1991 survey of college freshmen:
Percentage saying it is "very important" or "essential" to influence social values: 43%
Percentage saying they took part in demonstrations during their last year in high school: 39%
In a Harris Poll of 1,255 adults in November 1990:
47% were spending less time shopping than five years before the poll.
One of the top ten trends of 1994, according to the Trends Research Institute: voluntary simplicity
Percentage of American workers ages 25 -- 49 who believe that keeping up with the Joneses does anything for the keepers-up: 2%
Percentage of American workers ages 25 -- 49 who would like to see a return to a simpler society with less emphasis on material wealth: 75%
