Have written an article about it here http://diana.gaia.com/blog/2008/8/running_the_numbers_vs_drowning_by_numbers

When people ask about “going green”, they’re often pleasantly surprised at how easy it is: just stop buying so much stuff. Sure, basic necessities can easily be “greened up”: think fair trade coffee and cloth napkins and efficient light bulbs.

Feeling powerless can trigger strong desires to purchase products that convey high status, according to new research.

Did you ever wonder why it is so difficult to part with your stuff? A new study reveals fascinating insights into the specific neuropsychological mechanisms that are linked with the potential loss of possessions. The research, published by Cell Press in the June 12 issue of the journal Neuron, has important implications for both neuroscience and economics and may even explain why you are reluctant to sell your iPod.

Do the brands we buy and the things we own define who we are? Like it or not, two new books say they do.

Thorstein Veblen introduced the idea of “conspicuous consumption” in The Theory of the Leisure Class, in 1899. And it’s still being recycled today. Veblen gave examples like the man who parades down Main Street in “stainless” linen, with a superfluous walking stick. These objects supposedly told a story—“evidence of leisure”— to an audience of strangers.

In the final section of Buying In, three forward-looking chapters explore where the evolving 21st century relationship between what we buy and who we are might go — or rather where we might take it. This section includes my argument that the conspicuous consumption, keeping-up-with-the-Joneses, status-signal, “badge” theory of consumer behavior is counterproductive and out of date.

The 100 Thing Challenge is my little way to personalize my efforts to "Challenge Stuff" and fight consumerism.

Do the brands we buy and the things we own define who we are? Like it or not, two new books say they do.

Photographic Artist Chris Jordan turns the statistics of consumerism into palpable images in his new photo series.