Obesity and Resources

A number of years ago I got involved in a flame war over the Internet, in which I argued that obesity was a bad idea. I was called heartless, I was called a fat basher, and I was called a sham. I have since then known overweight people whom I thought the world of, even loved; and I regret having said what I had said on the subject.

I will however address a much larger issues, and that is a moral issue. The issue is overconsumption of resources to the point that it's no longer even good for the people using them. People overconsume fuel and poison the air. People leave air conditioning running in their houses while they are away at work. People buy huge houses that they have to spend the rest of their lives working to pay off.

I choose to exercise; whether the next person does that or not is their business. However the overconsumption of resources is everyone's business. Everyone loses when someone chooses to drive a Hummer. Everyone loses through uncontrolled burning of oil and coal. Everyone loses when people ranch in the Amazon and leave the place a wasteland.

You will not see me say anything negative any more about fat people. But you will see me argue till I'm blue in the face that overconsumption of resources is the wrong thing to do. The next person's shape is not my business, but the health of the planet is my business and also everyone else's business.

I move from addressing obesity toward addressing overconsumption of resources.