Consumerism is driving humanity to its own DESTRUCTION ‘in leaps & bounds’ Russian defense minister warns, urging return to nature

Unbridled greed and the desire to accumulate more and more material wealth at the expense of the environment is poisoning the planet and could soon bring an end to the human race, Russian Defense Minister Sergey Shoigu has warned.

In an interview for the September edition of Vokrug Sveta (Around the World) magazine, the military chief gave a stark warning that mankind is heading down a slippery slope from which there may be no return. Held to mark the 176th anniversary of the Russian Geographical Society, which Shoigu heads as its president, the discussion focused on his belief that people need to reconnect with the wild and shun excessive materialism.

“I’ll say a thought many people won’t like – I think humanity is taking leaps and bounds towards its own destruction, and the reason for that is the unbridled desire for consumption,” Shoigu said. “If you catch one rabbit, you’ll be full. If you collect ten, you now need a refrigerator. And then the fridge needs electricity to work, which requires burning fuel. But why did you need these rabbits in the first place? I’m dreaming of the day everyone will understand it is time to end this crazy consumerism.”

A Siberian native, the defense minister went on to explain how his grandfather, a member of his home region’s indigenous Tuvan ethnic group, knew that hunting more animals than necessary would result in slimmer pickings the next year. Forgetting this fact, he argued, has resulted in modern-day greed devastating the planet.

Man-made climate change has become a hot issue in Russia in recent years, with President Vladimir Putin warning earlier this month that the country is disproportionately facing its impact, recording temperature increases well above the global average. This, Putin said, “if not entirely, then at least to a large extent, is due to global climate change in our nation.”

The remarks, which came as rescue workers tackled vast wildfires in Siberia and the Far East, echo a recent warning from the United Nations that humans are “unequivocally” responsible for climate change and that the situation is “code red.”

Mass deaths of wildlife have also been recorded in recent months. In one high-profile incident last October, the carcasses of sea creatures like fish and octopuses piled up along the shores of the Kamchatka Peninsula, in the Russian Far East. While the cause of the disaster was not initially clear, despite reports of a fuel leak, it is believed to have killed as much as 95% of marine species on the ocean floor.

Known for his love of nature and being a keen hunter, Shoigu was reelected as president of the Russian Geographical Society at the end of last year. Over the past decade, 2,700 expeditions have been carried out under its supervision and over 2 billion rubles ($27 million USD) have been given to fund scientific missions and research purposes.

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