Editor’s Note: Happy Saturday! This morning Gayle Bates is here discussing the mass media and the role it plays in consumerism. Here she is:

Oh my, does the media ever affect the environment. We are exposed to more than 3000 messages every single day, and the vast majority of these messages are telling us to consume, consume, consume.

We do hear and see the occasional message encouraging us to consider environmental, social and cultural sustainability, and a global perspective when making purchasing decisions. Our Big Earth is a fabulous example of this kind of messaging. But no matter how wonderful, these messages are a mere whisper compared to the roar of the mass media.

Before you click to leave this page, I’m not here to point fingers, lay blame or take you on a guilt trip. We do need to consume to survive – both literally and figuratively. Buying things provides work for those producing and creating, and all those involved in getting what we want and need to where we are.

Consumption itself is not the issue here – the issue is how and why the media bombard us with messages about our consumption, and how that affects the environment locally, regionally and globally.

The vehicles for how the media attempt to influence us include everything from magazines to posters, tv advertisements to web page banners, radio jingles to t-shirts, sponsorship (like the Olympics at GM Place) to endorsements, billboards to packaging, Facebook to snail mail, samples to coupons and product placement to Twittering.

No matter the method of delivery, the message itself is always pretty simple.

They tell you that you will be happier and more valuable to society if you buy THIS. Although it is suggested that you are the most important breathing entity on the planet, you’re not quite good enough the way you are now. But don’t despair – improvement is just a purchase (or three) away.

The goal posts move constantly, what was good yesterday isn’t good enough today because the style, color, icon or fashion has moved on to something new.

But what these messages don’t tell you, in fact what much of the media carefully evades or dismisses, is the actual cost to the environment of that purchase. If the impact on resources, ecosystems, potable water and breathable air were clearly linked to the production of consumables, we would be better able to assess our choices within a larger context.

Without that impact knowledge, we are much more vulnerable to those persuasive messages – it’s not like we’re hurting anyone or anything by buying that, right?

Just think of the percentage of websites, tv programs, books, magazines and movies that encourage constant blind consumption, compared to those that advocate conscious, evaluative purchasing. It’s that roar to the whisper.

The mass media is everywhere, all the time, utilizing every tool possible, including advanced psychology and extensive research information to get you to buy, buy, buy. Why? – because they are paid to do it

Yep, apparently money does make the world go round.

The cycle that we are going through now is one of ever increasing economic growth, driven and perpetuated by big business. This places more value on profit and stock options than on human beings and the environment.

Knowing that this is happening is the beginning of changing it. Just as we learn to evaluate the opinions of playmates, friends and coworkers based on their behaviors and motivation, we are learning to be less accepting of incomplete information and more proactive in searching out sources of information that consider environmental impact.

It takes effort to be consistent in making conscious, well informed purchasing decisions – or decisions of any kind. But it is here that we can, as individuals, contribute to shaping the media and the thousands of messages that they bring into our daily lives.

Email, write, phone, visit on Facebook and Tweet the media, asking, requesting and demanding more social, cultural and environmental information.

Seek out and support trusted sources and tell others that the information is available. Knowledge is power – let’s get some.

An awesome resource for this subject is The Story of Stuff. There is a great 20 minute video that clearly explains what is happening with business, government and resources on the planet, and discusses what we can do to change it.

What are you doing to be proactive?