FYS The Fifties

After World War II the United States saw a huge rise in consumption. People were beginning to buy houses in the suburbs, cars such as Fords or Chevys, and more mass-produced goods. In the 1950s, the gross national product grew from $285 billion to a staggering $500 billion. Major manufactures saw this rise in consumption and started to produce more goods made possible because of the abundance in natural resources such as “petroleum, minerals and rivers” (Dunar 167-168). While this rise in consumption may have prevented a return to depression, it also had its side effects that still remain today.

After watching a short video in my human geography class, which I encourage everyone to watch, I was surprised at the effect consumerism has had on our environment! In the 1950s the United States became a consumerism nation. People of the fifties felt the need to have more, better stuff. People wanted to have what others had or did not have yet, like a competition. As David Riesman said people were beginning to “lose their social freedom and their individualism in seeking to become like each other” (Dunar 190). This want, need, and lose of individualism has been inherited by the new generations. The citizens of the United States, as well as the government, have forgotten what is really important, our environment.

Since the rise of consumerism, we have started to see dramatic effects on our environment. Today the United State population makes up about 5% of the world’s population yet we use approximately 25% of Earth’s coal and 26% of Earth’s oil. At this pace we are running out of the natural resources that were abundant to start this consumerism movement in the 1950s. In fact on August 20, the world hit Earth Overshoot Day. This day signaled that we had hit the annual natural demand that can be renewed in a year. We have reached nature’s yearly budget and we still have 2 months left of this year. This usage comes at a price; today we see shrinkage in forests, a buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, and food shortages. Now this is not the United States’ entire fault, but we are a main contender. The Global Footprint Network reports that if everyone in the world lived as the average American we would need 5 planets.

The 1950s was the birth of consumerism in the United States, but it is at the fault of everyone that our environment is failing. With the change in society that occurred in the 1950s, we have found ourselves in a tough predicament. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has said that by the year 2015 “humanity must turn its emission trajectory around” in order to improve the environment. We, as Americans, need to join the cause and help our environment. We need to fix the mistakes made by the generations before us and save our home. We only have one planet and by the looks of it, we will not be finding another four to fit our needs.

— Hannah M.