Earth911 features a quote from American author Madeleine L'Engle critiquing advertising's role in promoting unnecessary consumption. In her memoir A Circle of Quiet, L'Engle highlights how ads encourage buying new products for image despite functional old ones. The post urges readers to become conscious consumers to reduce planetary waste.
On October 31, 2025, Earth911 published an inspirational piece drawing from Madeleine L'Engle's memoir A Circle of Quiet. The American author wrote: "A pitch to make us buy a new car or a new stove when our old one is perfectly good, so that we'll have a better 'image' of ourselves, doesn't make sense, but it's what the advertiser's in business for. And the powers of darkness know exactly where to infiltrate."
The post connects this critique to broader environmental impacts, noting that buying into advertising claims for the "latest and greatest" products has facilitated planned obsolescence. This practice has littered the planet with waste from discarded items. Earth911 poses a key question: "Do we really need to purchase the newest model or are we just allowing advertisers to manipulate us?"
Encouraging action, the site suggests: "By becoming conscious consumers and thinking about the impact our choices have on the planet, we can make changes for the better." This inspiration, originally featured in a poster on May 1, 2020, aims to promote daily awareness of environmental priorities. Earth911 invites readers to share such messages to foster planet-first thinking.