The Consumptive Sabotage Mindset of the United States
and the Looming Global Extinction Event
Tracy Turner
In two previous articles, we reviewed two critical elements of humanity's irresponsible march toward ecological oblivion: the environmental aftermath of the 2024 Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster and the long history of environmental racism embedded in the nuclear energy industry. The first paper discussed continued repercussions of the Fukushima disaster: ecological destruction, health risks to local populations and to the world at large, and how even today TEPCO has continued to play its part in creating this grim legacy of contamination and mismanagement. ("Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Disaster," 2024). It was the deconstruction of systemic injustices involved in nuclear energy, focused on the exploitation of Indigenous communities and other marginalized populations through uranium mining, nuclear testing, and waste disposal, that has seemingly built this global industry on the backs of the oppressed ("Nuclear Racism," 2024). EV owners are investors in “future” nuclear.
One can also realize in both of these pieces how an environmental crisis, born out of uncontrolled greed and ignorance, has brought the planet to the brink of disaster, contributing to the breakdown of ecosystems, poisoning whole regions, and destroying countless life patterns. In this third article, we look further back and widen the lens to look at the mindset beneath this devastation—the consumptive sabotage mindset of the United States and its role in spearheading a global extinction event.
This consumptive mindset, essentially overconsumption and waste as the defining marks of modern life, has become so inlaid in the global economic structures—especially in the U.S. The thriving demand for resources, energy, and luxury goods is depleting the Earth's natural systems at an unprecedented rate. This thinking deconstructs the ecosystems that make life possible, whether by extracting fossil fuels and raw materials for increasing consumption or indulging in status-symbol consumer goods like SUVs and EVs. How tragic an irony that even as we seek solutions to environmental problems, such as the shift to EVs, we merely switch from one form of destruction to another. This article makes the case that overconsumption, waste, and exploitation in the U.S. fuel a much larger global crisis—a trajectory toward mass extinction. EVs are greenswashing and sanewashing of the nuclear industry, ergo, "I drive a Tesla, I am saving nuclear power plants and nuclear meltdowns and nuclear waste stockpiles."
1. Overconsumption and Its Impact on Earth's Resources
At the very core of the consumptive sabotage mindset is a thirsty craving for more—more goods, energy, technology—more everything. This incessant demand has led to the depletion of Earth's natural resources while devastating ecosystems, causing the loss of biodiversity, and perpetuating an ominous, bleak—starving and toxic—future onto future generations.
Fossil fuels, being the current leading global energy source, are rapidly being depleted. Extraction of these fuels includes deep-water drilling, fracking, and strip mining, which result in extreme environmental degradation. Oil spills, methane leaks, and deforestation are a few of the ecological consequences resulting from extraction of fossil fuel resources, while burning fossil fuels continuously accelerates climate change. In fact, according to the Global Carbon Project in 2022, an entire 79% of global greenhouse gas emissions is supplied by the consumption of fossil fuels. Apart from fossil fuels, mining metals and minerals for electronics, infrastructure, and consumer goods is furthering environmental devastation.
The rush to extract rare earth elements for technology and electric vehicles has led to widespread land degradation, toxic water pollution, and human displacement, particularly in communities that are already marginalized (He et al., 2020).
Whereas resources are being drained, the Earth's ecosystems—which provide essential ‘services,’ including clean air, water, and fertile soil—are increasingly unable to sustain human populations. Human dependence on freshwater land for agriculture and drinking purposes becomes alarmingly depleted. With their high demand for water and chemicals, industrialized agriculture contributes to erosion of soil and desertification.
As Wada et al. 2016 have noted, the unsustainable rate of groundwater depletion due to over-extraction of water from global aquifers has become irreversible in many regions. The severity of this kind of irreversible damage does necessitate immediate drastic action. Meanwhile, the forests that serve as the most important carbon sink for the entire planet continue to be cut down for agriculture, urbanization, and industrial use, speeding Earth's climate toward catastrophic tipping points.
We are now facing a global unraveling of ecosystems driven by the insatiable demand for products and services. Overconsumption, normalized and celebrated by consumer culture, is pushing the systems that give Earth life to the point of collapse.
2. Electric Vehicles: Irreparable Harm to Earth
The electric vehicle, often trumpeted as a critical solution to the climate crisis, is, in truth, part of the same cycle of destructive consumption. While they emit no tailpipe emissions and thus position themselves as "green" alternatives to fossil fuel-powered vehicles, their actual production and life cycle are hidden ecological costs that are inexcusable to ignore.
A poisoning unfolding includes mining raw materials for EV batteries—minerals such as lithium, cobalt, and nickel—that have considerable environmental and social impacts. These minerals are normally mined in areas of ecological concern where the methods of processing cause massive deforestation, water pollution, and soil degradation. For instance, lithium extraction in Chile's Atacama Desert depletes the already scarce water resources. At the same time, the mining of cobalt in the Democratic Republic of Congo has been related to child labor and human rights abuses, with substantial environmental degradation (Jiang et al., 2019; Gammage et al., 2020). The chemicals used in these mining processes—sulfuric acid, arsenic, and mercury—leach into groundwater and surrounding ecosystems, poisoning the Earth and people.
In addition to environmental degradation related to resource extraction, EV manufacturing is an energy-intensive process. The Union of Concerned Scientists estimates that "manufacturing an electric vehicle generates 68 percent more emissions than making a comparable gasoline-powered car, mainly because of the energy required to produce the battery" (Union of Concerned Scientists, 2015). Although EVs have a lower carbon footprint for the greater part of their operational lifetime, the high environmental cost of their manufacturing remains to be the same, especially in areas reliant on fossil fuels for energy production. Finally, the disposition of batteries from EVs remains an unresolved environmental issue.
Recycling technologies for lithium-ion batteries exist but are expensive and not widely practiced. Most EV batteries will eventually end up in landfills, their toxic ingredients—lithium, cobalt, and a range of other chemicals—leaching into soil and water to pose a long-term environmental risk.
In the name of replacing one source of pollution, fossil fuel-powered vehicles, with another—namely, the ecological costs of EV production and disposal—overconsumption and waste remain major movers of environmental destruction.
3. The Case Against SUVs: A Symbol of Wasted Resources
The SUV perhaps is the most prominent symbol of America's wasteful sabotage mindset.
These cars, disproportionately popular in the U.S., represent the epitome of the most wasteful and ego-driven consumption. Whether powered by gasoline or electricity, the inherent inefficiency of SUVs has severe environmental and economic consequences. The weight and shape of SUVs make them inherently inefficient. While compact cars have much lower energy needs to accelerate and maintain speed, SUVs are much heavier and less aerodynamic. Such inefficiency increases fuel consumption, particularly in urban areas characterized by frequent stops and starts.
According to the International Council on Clean Transportation (2020), SUVs comprise almost 50% of the increase in worldwide CO2 emissions caused by passenger vehicles recently, despite their composition of only 40% of global vehicle sales. The environmental impact of SUVs is worsened even more by their aerodynamic inefficiency.
The box-like shape in the structure of their body presents quite a lot of air resistance, which uses more energy to overcome and results in higher fuel consumption. This is further exacerbated by the big engines, which guzzle more fuel than what is needed for daily driving. These so-called products of power, freedom, and adventure are huge resource gluttons: they gobble up oil and raw materials far in excess of any functional need. Perhaps what is most disturbing about the culture of SUVs is something it says about values.
The demand for these large, gas-guzzling vehicles has reduced the resources available for more necessary sectors, such as agriculture. Farming machinery, particularly those requiring diesel power, is being replaced with high-horsepower SUVs that use up tremendous amounts of fuel and material for personal pampering. Selling SUVs as a status symbol has perpetuated a culture of excess and waste in which self-image has been favored over global sustainability.
4. SUVs as the "Chariot of Choice" and Egotistical Consumption
The SUV went from its simple role of transporting people to having been produced as a symbol of ego-driven consumption. Most of the marketing for these vehicles is based on rugged individualism, portraying them as a tool for adventure and freedom. In truth, they signify an uncritical embracing of excess whereby the desire for status and self-image outweighs concern for the future of the planet.
This cultural shift in egotistical consumption has real-world results.
Manufacturing SUVs, for instance, requires huge sums of energy, raw materials, and human effort, thus contributing directly to natural resource depletion and ecosystem degradation. It is about the resources spent to produce consumptive SUVs—like oil, steel, and rare metals—extracted at the expense of communities, ecosystems, and future generations—all in the name of a steel cocoon around timid, insecure drivers with low IQs. As the demand for SUVs increases, so will the burden on Earth's resources.
The high demand for oil, metals, and land to construct vehicles has kept the wheels of environmental destruction moving despite an increasingly worsening global climate crisis. Advertisements and consumer culture have driven us into a vicious circle of waste and excess that is not sustainable, much less for the planet, but for the future generations who are to take hold of a broken world.
5. A Dystopian Future: A Legacy of Sin and Destruction
The consumptive sabotage mindset dominating American culture is not a passing trend but a fundamental failure of morality, reflective of a society which has become obsessed with indulgence.
It is characterized by ignorance, excess, and short-term gratification at the expense of long-term survival. Of course, the seven deadly sins of greed, pride, envy, wrath, sloth, gluttony, and lust have come to define modern consumerism and shape the way in which we approach resources, technology, and the natural environment.
This, in turn, causes the depletion of the earth's resources, mass extinction, and the collapse of ecosystems due to overconsumption. We pave the way to starvation, resource wars, and widespread suffering. Unless the consequences of our overconsumption are radically addressed in the near future, food shortages may come once the world's oil reserves dry up and energy demands outstrip supplies.
Nuclear power, too, touted as a "clean" source, has also had its own share of potential catastrophes. Atomic meltdowns, just like that at Fukushima in 2011, still pose a grave threat to the environment. As reactors grow older and new ones are built to meet the growing demand for energy, the chances of contamination and radioactive fallout increase. Besides, the problem of nuclear waste disposal remains unsolved. Indigenous communities have long borne the brunt of this environmental injustice, with waste dumps often located on their lands, exposing them to lifelong health risks (Schultz, 2020). The ongoing legacy of nuclear colonialism ensures that marginalized communities continue to suffer, even as the rest of the world continues to indulge in its consumption-based lifestyle. The post-oil era has already become a starvation reality.
As accessible oil is reduced, states will be increasingly dependent on ever more destructive forms of extraction of resources, including Indigenous lands, deep-sea drilling, and fracking, which continue to destroy the environment by contributing to the collapse of ecosystems and the displacement of vulnerable communities. With fuel being scarce, starvation of millions would result, since food production would be affected.
6. Conclusion: No Redemption, No Escape
We are following a path to a future of deprivation, suffering, and death. There is no redemption for the sins of overconsumption and exploitation. The damage to the Earth, ecosystems, and future generations is irrecoverable. Even while we build new technologies and search for "clean" energy solutions, we are simply moving the problem from one form of destruction into another.
In the next few decades, there will be no salvation. We are sowing the seeds of our destruction, and the outcome will be catastrophic. The planet will continue on its course, but it will not be the same anymore. While we continue to satiate our desires, we secure a future that is all about scarcity, toxicity, and conflict for generations to come.
It is the price of overconsumption, the price of our egoistic pursuit of comfort and luxury. Moreover, it is a price that will be paid with the lives of future generations.
Nuclear Waste and Mining Waste
Global Nuclear Waste Stockpiles: As of 2023, there are approximately 250,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel worldwide. This is the material produced by nuclear reactors after uranium has been used as fuel. The United States alone has about 90,000 metric tons of spent nuclear fuel, mostly stored at reactor sites or interim storage facilities. (Source: U.S. Department of Energy)
Long-Term Storage: Most spent nuclear fuel remains radioactive for thousands to hundreds of thousands of years. The half-life of uranium-235 is 700 million years, and plutonium-239 has a half-life of 24,100 years. Long-term storage remains a major challenge, with only a few countries (Finland with its Onkalo repository) having begun to develop permanent disposal sites.
Nuclear Mining Waste (Tailings and Sludge): Uranium mining produces large amounts of radioactive tailings, which can contain hazardous materials like radium, arsenic, and lead. An estimated 100,000 metric tons of uranium tailings are produced annually worldwide. A typical uranium mine produces between 200 to 1,000 tons of tailings per ton of uranium ore extracted. (Source: World Nuclear Association)
Health and Environmental Impact: Tailings are often left in open piles or ponds, potentially contaminating groundwater and air with radioactive dust. For example, in the U.S., the Grand Junction, Colorado uranium mill tailings site continues to leak into groundwater, even though it was closed in 1984. Studies have shown a 20-30% increase in lung cancer and other cancers in areas close to uranium mining operations.
Oil Shortfalls and Overconsumption of Oil
Global Oil Reserves and Production: According to the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, the world has about 1.7 trillion barrels of proven oil reserves. As of 2023, the global consumption is approximately 100 million barrels per day (bpd). At current consumption rates, proven oil reserves would last approximately 50 years, but this varies depending on new discoveries and technological advancements. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Peak Oil: Many experts believe we may already be past the "peak oil" era — the point at which global oil production starts to decline. The production of conventional oil (not including unconventional sources like shale oil) is predicted to peak sometime between 2025 and 2035. (Source: U.S. Energy Information Administration)
Carbon Footprint of Luxury EVs and Luxury EV SUVs
True Carbon Footprint of EVs: Manufacturing an electric vehicle (EV) generally has higher emissions than a comparable internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle, largely due to the production of the lithium-ion battery. A typical EV battery pack can emit 5 to 10 tons of CO2 in its production process. For example, the Tesla Model S requires a 75-100 kWh battery, which results in a carbon footprint of approximately 8-15 tons of CO2 just for manufacturing.
Lifespan Emissions: Over the lifespan of an EV, the emissions from electricity production must also be considered. On average, the global grid mix results in about 0.4 kg of CO2 per kWh. A typical luxury EV like the Tesla Model S, which has a range of around 370 miles per charge, will use around 25 kWh per 100 miles, contributing approximately 10 kg of CO2 for every 100 miles driven, depending on the energy source.
Luxury EV SUVs: Luxury SUVs like the Rivian R1S or BMW iX have larger batteries (typically 100-130 kWh) and higher emissions from production. The carbon footprint of the Rivian R1S, for instance, may be around 10-12 tons of CO2 from manufacturing alone.
End-of-Life Recycling: At the end of their life, EV batteries can be recycled, but the recycling process is energy-intensive and not yet widespread. Currently, only about 5-10% of EV batteries are recycled into new battery packs.
SUVs, EVs, and Accidents: Deaths and Injuries
Rollover Crashes: SUVs have a higher risk of rollover accidents compared to regular passenger cars due to their higher center of gravity. In the U.S., SUVs are involved in about 40% of all rollover crashes, despite representing only around 35% of total vehicles on the road. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Fatalities from Rollover Accidents: Rollover accidents account for approximately 30% of all passenger vehicle fatalities in the U.S. In the U.S., rollover crashes result in approximately 10,000 deaths annually, with many involving SUVs. (Source: National Highway Traffic Safety Administration)
Injuries: Injuries from rollovers can include spinal cord injuries, dismemberments, and severe brain trauma. The likelihood of a spinal cord injury is twice as high in a rollover crash as in other types of crashes. (Source: National Spinal Cord Injury Statistical Center)
EV Fires and Burn Deaths: Lithium-ion battery fires, although rare, are a significant concern in EV accidents. For example, the Tesla Model S has been involved in several high-profile fire incidents, though the overall rate of fire in EVs is lower than that in gasoline vehicles. EV fires occur in about 0.03% of all EV accidents (roughly 3 fires per 10,000 vehicles). In comparison, gasoline-powered vehicles experience about 0.05% fire incidents, but the fires in gasoline vehicles are often more severe.
There is no "smart pending-tech" "solution," you cannot cure Pride, Lust, Anger, Greed, Jealousy, Envy Sloth (and Stupdity) with "more tech."
From Goodreads: “There is an old Eastern fable about a traveler who is taken unawares on the steppes by a ferocious wild animal. In order to escape the beast, the traveler hides in an empty well, but at the bottom of the well he sees a dragon with its jaws open, ready to devour him. The poor fellow does not dare to climb out because he is afraid of being eaten by the rapacious beast, neither does he dare drop to the bottom of the well for fear of being eaten by the dragon. So, he seizes hold of a branch of a bush that is growing in the crevices of the well and clings on to it. His arms grow weak, and he knows that he will soon have to resign himself to the death that awaits him on either side. Yet he still clings on, and while he is holding on to the branch he looks around and sees that two mice, one black and one white, are steadily working their way round the bush he is hanging from, gnawing away at it. Sooner or later, they will eat through it and the branch will snap, and he will fall into the jaws of the dragon. The traveler sees this and knows that he will inevitably perish. But while he is still hanging there, he sees some drops of honey on the leaves of the bush, stretches out his tongue and licks them. In the same way I am clinging to the tree of life, knowing full well that the dragon of death inevitably awaits me, ready to tear me to pieces, and I cannot understand how I have fallen into this torment. And I try licking the honey that once consoled me, but it no longer gives me pleasure. The white mouse and the black mouse – day and night – are gnawing at the branch from which I am hanging. I can see the dragon clearly and the honey no longer tastes sweet. I can see only one thing; the inescapable dragon and the mice, and I cannot tear my eyes away from them. And this is no fable but the truth, the truth that is irrefutable and intelligible to everyone.” – Leo Tolstoy
i am what i drive. i am where i live. my self-esteem is that low. Because of this, I can fake that I'm brimming with "strength and confidence," wholly-contrived smugness and a sense of entitlement that shelters me from radiation leaks. I'm an average american, with a lower-case "a."