THE LORAX What are the relationships between resource consumption and sustainability?
Natural Resources: They are resources that can exist in nature without any human interaction. These support life and the basic needs of humans. For example, Truffula Trees that Once-ler found while traveling with his wagon are a natural resource, which he exploits.
Demand: In economics, it is the total amount of people that demand a given product. The demand has a direct relationship with the supply of goods and services. For example, Thneeds are a high demanded product from the Once-ler. The production could not keep up with the demand therefore, the market collapsed.
Supply: In economics, supply is the total amount of a specific good or service that is available to a range of consumers/customers. It has a direct relationship with the demand of a good or service. For example, Thneeds are a supply that was available to the public in Lorax. As mentioned previously, the supply could not match the demand, which led to Truffula Trees going extinct.
Resource scarcity: It refers to when a demand for a certain product, resource or a service is higher than what the producer can supply the market with that resource, which is because of the fact that the resources are limited. For example, the supply of Thneeds could not keep up with the demand in Lorax, resulting in the total collapse of the market and the ecosystem.
Greed: It is the excessive desire of a product, good or a service in economics. On the producer’s side it can be money. In Lorax, both the consumer and producer got greedy for money and Thneeds and ruined the environment.
Need: In economics, it is a wanted product, good or a service that is necessary for survival, somewhat opposite to wanting which is to simply just desire something. In Lorax, the Thneed is presented as something that is a need whereas it clearly is a want.
Resource extraction: It is the process of extraction of resources, referring to the withdrawal of materials from the environment for human uses. In Lorax, it is the process of extracting the trees for Thneed.
Mass Production: It is the process of producing/manufacturing standardized items, products and services in large quantities and masses. These are usually done in large factories in assembly lines. An example is the mass production of Thneeds in factories that pollute.
Mass Consumption: It is when a specific or a group of products, goods or services are consumed in large quantities and masses. These are usually due to the large manufacturing and the wide distribution of the products. An example of mass consumption in Lorax is the Thneeds.
Waste generation: In production, it is the generation of discarded materials from products, and goods, whether they are recycled or disposed into landfills. The waste generated by Lorax ruins the air and the environment.
Economic Growth: It is the increase in the amount of goods, products and services that are produced per head of the population over a given period of time. In Lorax, there is economic growth during the start of the mass production of the Thneed, however it starts declining massively after the supply can not catch up with demand.
Increased wealth: In economic theory, it is a behavioral effect that suggests people spend more as the value of their assets rise. This is because of the increased physiological confidence of people as they become more financially secure. This is clearly shown in Lorax by Once-ler where the more wealth he gained, the more wealth he spent on the production, eventually using all the natural resources.
Increased standard of living (development): It refers to the wealth, comfort and material goods of someone, possessing the average needs and wants.
Decreased quality of life: It is more subjective and intangible than standard of living, where a person has a lower quality of life.
Impacts: In economy, it is the financial effect that a product or service has on the environment, resources, situations or a person. This is clearly seen in the Lorax where the mass consumption of Thneeds had a great impact on the environment.
Destruction: In economics, it refers to the excessive production and procession of innovation eventually destroying something, such as the environment in the case of what is happening in Lorax.
Pollution: It is the presence of a substance on the environment that has harmful or poisonous effects. This can be seen as the air pollution in Lorax where the air can not be refreshed due to the lack of presence of trees.
Resource Depletion: It is the depletion of resources due to the over consumption of a resource faster than it can be replenished/reproduced. A resource depletion in Lorax is the overuse of the trees.
Environmental activism: It is when a group of people in a society starts doing actions that aids the well being of the environment or the environmental processes. This is represented as the Lorax in the video.
Sustainability: It is to meet the needs of the current generation without compromising the ability of doing so for the next or future generations. This is not present in the Lorax as the Once-ler ruins the lives future generations by the resource depletion.
Negative Externality: It is when the production or the consumption of a product, good or service results in a cost/impact to others such as pollution. The air pollution was a negative externality in Lorax.
Tragedy of the commons: It refers to a situation where an individual or a group of individuals who have access to a common resource, act in their own interest to deplete the resource. It can be represented by the Once-ler in Lorax.
Environmental policy: It is the measure taken by a government, corporation or other authorities regarding the control of the resources and the effects on the environment. This is not present in Lorax, as the Once-ler depletes all of the resources.
