When American is struggling...

I just read these personal stories on CNN about how regular Americans are experiencing the economic meltdown of 2008. It got me thinking about where sustainability would fall in personal priority right now.

Several stories touched on ever rising food prices. Weekly increase in grocery bills... I've heard my mother-in-law complain about it since Dec 2007... then learned about food production hitting ecosystem limits due to population growth, and the world generally getting more affluent and eating more meat Rice prices in many parts of the world are hitting historic high and causing severe hardship to developing countries. It scares me to death thinking that food prices will continue to rise, because this inflation seem to be about sustainability, not just an economic adjustment.

And then there are folks who had to work at jobs that are really far away. This guy has an $800 a month fuel bill because he has to drive over 70 miles per day on a truck that gets only 11 miles per gallon! If he can sell the truck and buy a car that gets even 22mpg, he can save $400/month in fuel.

It saddens me that so many people in this profile are in bankruptcy or close to losing it all. Financial literacy is one issue. Over-consumption -- needing to keep buying and spending -- is another. The latter not only contributes significantly to the environmental issues, it makes the spender bankrupt or worse, force them to do the unthinkable to pay down debt. So why do people keep doing that? Shouldn't credit card companies have some responsibility in educating people? Perhaps someone should work with or pressure credit card companies to reduce material consumption!