Thanks to a campaign by the Evangelical Environmental Network (EEN) which asks Christians to recognize the various harms that result from making the choice to drive sports utility vehicles, Christians are wondering "What Would Jesus Drive?" EEN's manifesto states that "Obeying Jesus in our transportation choices is one of the great Christian obligations and opportunities in the 21st century. Pollution from vehicles has a major impact on human health and the rest of God's creation. It contributes significantly to global warming. Our reliance on imported oil from unstable regions threatens peace and security."

EEN is urging Christians, the largest religious group in the US, to stop buying Detroit's gas-guzzlers on the grounds that Christ would not approve. If Jesus would be aggrieved by the dissipation of resources and the sullying of the environment brought about by SUV-driving, surely he would be vexed by the over-consumption of a litany of other insidious products as well.

However, for any American, regardless of faith, to question their purchasing choices is to begin to question the very foundation of the US economy. When citizens question the economy they threaten to undermine its health, the continued vigor of which is based upon one simple, but many-pronged concept: people must keep buying more under any circumstances. Our president implores patriots to keep buying in the name of democracy and has continued on a tax-cutting spree allegedly to ensure this endless acquisitiveness. "The best way to stimulate demand is to give people some money so that they can spend it," Bush said. Even the language used by the government, in which Americans are referred to as consumers and not citizens, reveals this fundamental premise.

On the one hand, this is a straightforward idea. To stay in business, companies need to have customers purchase what they produce. To continue to keep people employed companies must stay in business, and so forth. In practice, however, it isn't that simple. If everyone merely bought one well-made automobile, television, CD player or even one mop or sweater — that lasted for many years — CEOs would all be driving Toyota Avalons instead of Mercedes and living in suburban tracts instead of mansions. No, to pay the currently enormous CEO salaries (besides cooking the books) it is imperative that people consume far more than they need to live.

To ensure relentless consumer expenditures, companies have several specious tactics. One of these is to produce merchandise that is so shoddily made that it disintegrates in a short period and needs to be replaced. (Think about that combination radio and CD player that has to be exchanged every two years.) Usually, these products are inexpensive enough that consumers find their immanent demise more disappointing than tragic. Additionally, it is usually less expensive to replace these products with newer models than to repair them.

Another favorite stratagem is to rapidly update technology so those products bought today become obsolete before their easy-payment cycle is completed. In this way, the computer with a 750 MHz hard drive must be exchanged for to the one with the 1 Gig hard drive to operate new system software, which require twice as much magnetic space. Or maybe the auto with airbags for front seat passengers has to be traded in for a newer auto that has side-air bags. (LPs exchanged for CDs, VHS cassettes for DVDs for I-Pods, etc.)

Even so, if a product continues to work well enough, some obstinate Americans may be complacent about succeeding it with something "better" until they absolutely must. Think about the longevity of a pair of Levis, for instance. Therefore, to persuade people who may not want to buy anything they don't perceive they actually need, corporate marketers use their considerable energies inventing heretofore-unknown necessities.

The areas in which illusory necessities seem to best succeed are those that are marketed by shaming their potential clientele, and those that claim to provide convenience. In other words, one type of advertising tells you that if you buy a product some personal deficiency will be remedied. Your embarrassing female odor, yellow teeth, flabby belly, unfashionable image — in the form of last-year's automobile or bell bottoms — can be easily transformed with the purchase of a new, "better" product. The other type of promotion tells you that you could have more hours in the day to do the things you really want to do if only you could reduce the time-consuming drudgery of every-day chores. A new type of cleaning device, instant food or delivery service will give you back that precious time. In the end, both of these types of advertisements tell you that buying something, almost anything, will ultimately make you happier.

It is easy to see how many become convinced to pull out the credit card for things they don't really need. After all, everyone wants to be happy. If all it takes to ensure bliss is the simple purchase of a new hand-held device, for instance, who could resist?

The flaw in this concept is the belief that things themselves will make one happy. Money, we have been told often enough, does not buy happiness. If you don't yet believe that, just review the lives of Michael Jackson or Liza Minnelli for a refresher course in the richness of misery. If money cannot do it, then a new possession surely will not. Furthermore, how is it possible that products, which once examined, contribute to the ruination of the globe, will change our lives in a positive way?

This fundamental logic is at the heart of the "What Would Jesus Drive?" campaign. EEN is asking their constituents to realize that an exclusive concentration on their small needs — manufactured or genuine — causes them to miss the bigger picture. Buying an automobile that is larger than one indisputably needs may make you feel momentarily superior, but not only doesn't this guarantee happiness, it contributes to the destruction of our environment which makes everyone unhappy. Large, unnecessary purchases also enslave one with high payments, which certainly don't bring happiness, but that is another long story.

However, asking what Jesus would drive is only a starting point, and a grand one, at that. Americans may not be ready to trade in the Ford Excursion for a Toyota hybrid, but they can begin to ask questions about some of their more mundane purchases.

Many products exist that have been introduced over the course of the last two decades, which seem to fulfil simple desires, yet have far-reaching repercussions. These particular products all share a common characteristic, which is that they replace some semi-durable item most Americans already own, with one that is disposable and generally over-packaged. This is perhaps corporate America's most brilliant marketing scheme. It is perversely shrewd to build an inferior product and get consumers accustomed to the idea that the item will need to be replaced shortly. But, to get them to buy something that they know has to be thrown away from the get-go, is a stroke of genius.

This species of product is insidious in the way it is presented as timesaving or convenient. On closer examination, most of these do not save any time. They certainly don't save money. Primarily, what they do is create addictions to tiny throw-aways, which on their own don't seem egregious, but when multiplied by millions of shoppers add up to tons of waste in America's wilderness areas Ñ and luxurious lifestyles for greedy corporate executives. These products include, but are not limited to: disposable cleaning cloths, disposable dryer sheets, disposable cutting boards, disposable clothing, over-packaged meals, over-packaged snack foods, disposable electrical air fresheners.

While it is imperative for marketing teams to come up with new products to keep buyers enslaved, it is just as important for consumers to ask themselves some questions before blindly purchasing new conveniences. Every purchase is a choice, after all. They must ask themselves the kind of questions the EEN thinks Jesus might ask. First, does this product create excessive waste and if so how will that choice affect the world? Second, does this product cost more than the thing it replaces, and how will this choice affect one's finances. Lastly, does this product actually perform a superior service, which might mitigate its downside; this includes health benefits but not necessarily the benefit of gaining two minutes of time.

What each of us chooses to buy affects the rest of the world. As the feminists used to say, the personal is political or, as we have been told repeatedly, consumers vote with their pocketbooks. The mothers of the US made dolphin-safe tuna fishing a reality through their canned tuna boycott. Product boycotts are one of the few ways people have to assert their beliefs. If America's Christians stop buying huge gas-guzzlers, maybe Detroit and the oil industry will have to buckle under and produce vehicles more in line with loving the earth. But it will take more than the Christians to change the status quo. Only when everyone learns to question the ramifications of each purchase, might there be a chance to save the world, yet.

SIDEBAR: THINK TWICE

Here is a partial list of everyday items that you might think you need. These products are just a few of the disposable goods that have been introduced over the past decade. The more Americans rely on items that can not be re-used, the more they must buy. The more they buy, the more they stay in debt. (Another long story.) The more they throw away, the more land is filled with rotting (or stagnant) garbage.

• What Would Jesus Snack On? When Pringles™, those desiccated potato snacks, first arrived in the marketplace, spooning together uniformly in their non-biodegradable can, they were an aberration. Why would anyone want a bland-tasting potato chip made from reconstituted spuds? Despite their inferiority in terms of taste, these cardboard-like gems have lasted for over two decades and now come in a variety of flavors. They remain a testament to the fact that people will buy anything if you convince them it is somehow superior. (In this case, it was that Pringles™ retained their unbroken shape allowing one to avoid the vagaries of bagged chips.) Once again, Frito Lay™, the creator of Pringles™ has launched a new snack in a can: Go Snacks™. According to the press release they are sold in a "first-of-its-kind packaging that fits the active, fast-paced lifestyles of today's consumers. Anytime, anywhere — even on the run – Go Snacks™ let Americans stay on the go without going hungry for their favorite snack foods." These crunchy snack foods are sold in a plastic, resealable container. The serving inside is equivalent to a single-serving bag of chips. Ask yourself, would Jesus purchase a snack that created that much waste? Wouldn't Jesus just buy a bag of Doritos, be sorry enough that it came in a Mylar bag, and call it a day? Waste Items: Plastic canister. Mylar wrap on canister.

• What Would Jesus Make His Kids for Lunch? Sure, many parents work, and it takes some effort to put together a sandwich in the morning before the tykes go off for the day. Kraft™ Foods has an answer, though not the right one, in its Lunchables™ line of children's food. Lunchables™ are fatty meats and cheeses, packaged with sugary desserts, in plastic trays. Not only are they expensive, relative to buying the foods items separately and putting them into a lunch bag yourself, they have little nutritive value and create plastic waste much greater than a sandwich bag. Is this what Jesus would want his children to eat? Furthermore, would he approve of the mounds of plastic trays blowing around the playground after lunch? Waste Items: Plastic tray, plastic seal, and plastic utensils.

• What Would Jesus Use to Clean the Floor? You've got to hand it to Proctor and Gamble. When they came out with the Swiffer™ product they really pulled one over on us. These disposable dry, electrostatic cloths wipe the floor — with no messy dustpans to empty or mops to wring out. The cloths attach to the Swiffer Sweeper™ and come in two scents. How using this new cloth is superior to using a broom and dustpan or mop and bucket, only P&G knows. Apparently the product has been a success, because one can now buy a variety of Swiffer™ products from dusting mitts to wet mops. The success of this product has also spawned look-alike products like the Clorox Ready-Mop™. It is hard to imagine that Jesus would think it better to attach a cloth to a sweeper, wipe the floor and throw away the cloth, than he would to use a broom and dustpan, and empty the waste into a trash can. Plus, a broom is a purchase that lasts several years, as is a mop or bucket, while the Swifferª cloths cost between 18¢ and 31¢ each (more for wet cloths) and require an $8.00 sweeping device. Yes, you have to rinse the mop and put it back in the corner. But is saving 60 seconds worth the pollution. Waste: Cleaning cloths, packaging.

• What Would Jesus Use to Cut Meat? Saran™, the makers of American's favorite plastic wrap have introduced Saran™ Disposable Cutting Sheets. A multi-layer plastic sheet, these are supposed to replace the kitchen cutting board. They "are a convenient way to help contain the germy mess left behind when cutting chicken, meat, fish, vegetables, and much more." Though we have lived for centuries cutting foods on wooden and recently, plastic boards, which can be washed and re-used, for some reason it is now imperative that we throw away another piece of trash every time we cook. Wouldn't Jesus just want us to take an extra moment to clean the germs off of our utensils, rather than add to landfill? Waste: Plastic sheet, packaging.

• How Would Jesus Freshen His Bathroom? No one loves the smells left behind in the bathroom after a particularly satisfying void of the bowels. In Jesus' day they probably just lived with the odors. They didn't bathe much anyway. But over the last century, modern people have developed a multitude of cures to mask the smells of humanity. From matches to potpourri to spray aerosols, there has been some way to freshen the bathroom. Now Glade has Plug-Ins™. This is an air freshener that plugs into an electrical outlet, which heats it, much like, said pot pourri, and keeps a steady stream of "freshness" pumping into the room. Not only would Jesus find it excessive to purchase a device which had little plastic pot of scent that needed to be replaced on a regular basis. He would also find it reprehensible that this device used electricity. Even if the amount used is negligible, think of it in the aggregate. Millions of families using single kilowatts leads to millions of fish dying as more damns are built across rivers to supply the power. Waste: Electricity, plastic scent pots, plastic packaging.

What Would Jesus Consume? © Suzanne Rush 2003 - Appeared in boyaremyarmstired.com, 12-02.