Question

In my country, we make so much waste-we buy and throw away, buy and throw away, buy and throw away-and yet northern countries will not share with the needy. Even when we have more than enough, we are afraid to share, we are afraid to let go of some of our wealth.

—“The Girl Who Silenced the World for Five Minutes,”
Severn Cullis-Suzuki

Based on the passage, why are the people in Suzuki’s country wasteful?

because they do not have enough
because they are afraid of people in the southern countries
because they share too much with others
because they are afraid to lose wealth

Answer 1

because they are afraid to lose wealth

The passage says they have more than enough but "are afraid to share, we are afraid to let go of some of our wealth," which explains their wastefulness.