“Green” Millennials Set New Standards in Wasteful Consumerism
12th June 2016
As a climate skeptic I couldn’t care less about recycling, carbon footprints, “lights on” Earth Hour, or any of the other claptrap associated with the green religion. But the breathtakingly wasteful lifestyle choices of the allegedly green “Millennials” put my efforts to enjoy the advantages of consumerist living to shame.
Sure, it’s fun to slag on Millenials, but they grew up in a world far different from those who love to beat on them. My generation ate cereal for breakfast because it was less work than a cooked breakfast, which was the only alternative. (No Egg McMuffin’s in the ’50s.) Millenials are making the same choices, but with a different range of options. I can get the cereal box out, get out a bowl, pour the cereal into the bowl, get out the milk, pour the milk on the cereal, put the milk back in the fridge, get out a spoon, sit down, eat the cereal, put the bowl and spoon on the counter or in the dishwasher OR I can grab an Egg McMuffin (or — shudder — a ‘breakfast taco’), eat it while travelling or doing something else, and throw the wrapper in the trash. The difference in convenience is the same as the difference between a fixed land-line phone versus a cell phone.