Acharya Prashant explains that every form of human consumption is carbon-intensive, yet society ignores the most significant driver of climate change: the consumption of other human beings for personal happiness. He identifies three main legs of consumption: man-made goods, natural resources like trees and rivers, and other people. While people discuss reducing car usage or planting trees, they avoid discussing the 'gorilla in the room,' which is the pursuit of happiness through bodily consumption and the resulting population growth. He notes that while animals also consume, man’s intellectual capacity allows him to do so on a devastating scale without ever feeling satisfied. Addressing the argument that education and literacy reduce fertility rates, Acharya Prashant points out that even when population growth slows in developed nations, carbon footprints continue to expand. He argues that if people do not seek happiness through children, they simply pivot to seeking it through gadgets and material luxuries. The refusal to have children in modern societies is often not a sign of wisdom, but a desire for a 'happier' life focused on personal enjoyment and exploitation of resources. Therefore, literacy and material welfare do not necessarily mitigate climate change because the underlying drive for consumption remains unaddressed. He concludes that focusing solely on population, material consumption, or food habits is a mistake because they all stem from the same fundamental tendency: the human ego seeing itself as incomplete and trying to fill that void through 'stuff.' Whether it is a child, a new laptop, or a meal, the source is the same center that believes happiness comes from external acquisition. He asserts that global warming is the direct result of man's pursuit of external happiness and pleasures. Until the objective of life shifts away from this external pursuit, climate change and mass extinction will remain inevitable.
