In this chapter, Beavan investigates how to be a sustainable consumer, but he keeps running up against the idea that in the United States, “to be patriotic is to shop” (141). While we are supposed to help grow our GDP, that growth does not end up enriching the average person or making our lives more content. The author writes that since 1950, the GDP “has grown by 550 percent” (252), but our happiness has not grown at all. In addition, “40 percent of that growth” (253) goes into the pockets of the richest 1 percent of Americans. The stuff we crave also destroys the planet.

The author states that he is like everyone else in this regard. For example, he spends endless time checking the rating of his blog on a site called Technorati rather than doing something productive or that will create true happiness. He relates that even Silicon Valley millionaires are not satisfied and think they have to dedicate themselves to making even more money.

Beavan tells the story of how Isabella, traveling with her parents in Italy when she was 8 months old, had explosive vomiting and diarrhea and was unconscious. The author bit his daughter in an attempt to get her to wake up, and an ambulance arrived to take Isabella to the hospital.