Overconsumption

Last updated

Overconsumption describes a situation where the use of a renewable natural resource exceeds its capacity to regenerate. A prolonged pattern of overconsumption leads to the eventual loss of resource bases. The term overconsumption is quite controversial in use and does not necessarily have a single unifying definition. [1] Overconsumption is driven several factors of the current global economy, including forces like consumerism, planned obsolescence, and other unsustainable business models and can be contrasted with sustainable consumption.

Contents

Defining what counts as "overconsumption" is challenging because defining a sustainable capacity of the system requires accounting for many variables. The total capacity of a system occurs at both the regional and worldwide levels, which means that certain regions may have higher consumption levels of certain resources than others due to greater resources without overconsuming a resource. A long-term pattern of overconsumption in any given region or ecological system can cause a reduction in natural resources that often results in environmental degradation.

The discussion of overconsumption often parallels that of population size and growth, and human development: more people demanding higher qualities of living, currently requires greater extraction of resources, which causes subsequent environmental degradation such as climate change and biodiversity loss. [2] [3] [4] [5] Currently, the inhabitants of high wealth, "developed" nations consume resources at a rate almost 32 times greater than those of the developing world, who make up the majority of the human population (7.9 billion people). [6] However, the developing world is a growing consumer market. These nations are quickly gaining more purchasing power and it is expected that the Global South, which includes cities in Asia, America, and Africa, will account for 56% of consumption growth by 2030. [7] This means that if current trends continue relative consumption rates will shift more into these developing countries, whereas developed countries would start to plateau. Sustainable Development Goal 12 "responsible consumption and production" is the main international policy tool with goals to abate the impact of overconsumption.

Causes

Economic growth

If everyone consumed resources at the US level, you will need another four or five Earths.

—Paul R. Ehrlich, biologist [8]

Economic growth is sometimes seen as a driver for overconsumption. Economic growth can be seen as a catalyst of overconsumption due to it requiring greater resource input to sustain the growth. China is an example where this phenomenon has been observed readily. China’s GDP increased massively from 1978, and energy consumption has increased by 6-fold. [9] By 1983, China’s consumption surpassed the biocapacity of their natural resources, leading to overconsumption. [10] In the last 30-40 years, China has seen significant increases in its pollution, land degradation, and non-renewable resource depletion, which aligns with its considerable economic growth. [11] It is unknown if other rapidly developing nations will see similar trends in resource overconsumption.

The Worldwatch Institute said China and India, with their booming economies, along with the United States, are the three planetary forces that are shaping the global biosphere. [12] The State of the World 2005 report said the two countries' high economic growth exposed the reality of severe pollution. The report states that

The world's ecological capacity is simply insufficient to satisfy the ambitions of China, India, Japan, Europe, and the United States as well as the aspirations of the rest of the world in a sustainable way.

In 2019, a warning on the climate crisis signed by 11,000 scientists from over 150 nations said economic growth is the driving force behind the "excessive extraction of materials and overexploitation of ecosystems" and that this "must be quickly curtailed to maintain long-term sustainability of the biosphere." [13] [14] Also in 2019, the Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services published by the United Nations' Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, which found that up to one million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction from human activity, [15] asserted that

A key element of more sustainable future policies is the evolution of global financial and economic systems to build a global sustainable economy, steering away from the current limited paradigm of economic growth. [16]

Consumerism

SUVs are a popular type of vehicle Used Cars For Sale - Car Dealership.jpg
SUVs are a popular type of vehicle

Consumerism is a social and economic order that encourages the acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing amounts. There is a spectrum of goods and services that the world population constantly consumes. These range from food and beverage, clothing and footwear, housing, energy, technology, transportation, education, health and personal care, financial services, and other utilities. When the resources required to produce these goods and services are depleted beyond a reasonable level, it can be considered to be overconsumption. Because developing nations are rising quickly into the consumer class, the trends happening in these nations are of special interest. According to the World Bank, the highest shares of consumption, regardless of income lie in food, beverage, clothing, and footwear. [17] As of 2015, the top five consumer markets in the world included the United States, Japan, Germany, China, and France. [18]

Planned and perceived obsolescence is an important factor that explains why some overconsumption of consumer products exists. [19] This factor of the production revolves around designing products with the intent to be discarded after a short period of time. Perceived obsolescence is prevalent within the fashion and technology industries. Through this technique, products are made obsolete and replaced on a semi-regular basis. Frequent new launches of technology or fashion lines can be seen as a form of marketing-induced perceived obsolescence. Products designed to break after a certain period of time or use would be considered to be planned obsolescence. [20]

Effects

Waste generation, measured in kilograms per person per day Waste generation per day per capita, September 2018.jpg
Waste generation, measured in kilograms per person per day

A fundamental effect of overconsumption is a reduction in the planet's carrying capacity. Excessive unsustainable consumption will exceed the long-term carrying capacity of its environment (ecological overshoot) and subsequent resource depletion, environmental degradation and reduced ecosystem health. In 2020 multinational team of scientists published a study, saying that overconsumption is the biggest threat to sustainability. According to the study, a drastic lifestyle change is necessary for solving the ecological crisis. According to one of the authors Julia Steinberger: “To protect ourselves from the worsening climate crisis, we must reduce inequality and challenge the notion that riches, and those who possess them, are inherently good.” The research was published on the site of the World Economic Forum. The leader of the forum professor Klaus Schwab, calls to a "great reset of capitalism". [21]

A 2020 study published in Scientific Reports , in which both population growth and deforestation were used as proxies for total resource consumption, warns that if consumption continues at the current rate for the next several decades, it can trigger a full or almost full extinction of humanity. The study says that "while violent events, such as global war or natural catastrophic events, are of immediate concern to everyone, a relatively slow consumption of the planetary resources may be not perceived as strongly as a mortal danger for the human civilization." To avoid it humanity should pass from a civilization dominated by the economy to a "cultural society" that "privileges the interest of the ecosystem above the individual interest of its components, but eventually in accordance with the overall communal interest." [22] [23]

The worldwide prevalence of obesity in males (2008)- the darker areas represent a higher percentage of obese males World map of Male Obesity, 2008.svg
The worldwide prevalence of obesity in males (2008)- the darker areas represent a higher percentage of obese males

The scale of modern life's overconsumption can lead to a decline in economy and an increase in financial instability. [24] Some argue that overconsumption enables the existence of an "overclass", while others disagree with the role of overconsumption in class inequality. [25] Population, Development, and Poverty all coincide with overconsumption; how they interplay with each other is complex. [26] Because of this complexity it is difficult to determine the role of consumption in terms of economic inequality.

Great Pacific garbage patch Pacific-garbage-patch-map 2010 noaamdp.jpg
Great Pacific garbage patch

In the long term, these effects can lead to increased conflict over dwindling resources [27] and in the worst case a Malthusian catastrophe. Lester Brown of the Earth Policy Institute, has said: "It would take 1.5 Earths to sustain our present level of consumption. Environmentally, the world is in an overshoot mode." [28]

As of 2012, the United States alone was using 30% of the world's resources and if everyone were to consume at that rate, we would need 3-5 planets to sustain this type of living. Resources are quickly becoming depleted, with about ⅓ already gone. With new consumer markets rising in the developing countries which account for a much higher percentage of the world's population, this number can only rise. [29] According to Sierra Club’s Dave Tilford, "With less than 5 percent of world population, the U.S. uses one-third of the world’s paper, a quarter of the world’s oil, 23 percent of the coal, 27 percent of the aluminum, and 19 percent of the copper." [30] According to BBC, a World Bank study has found that "Americans produce 16.5 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita every year. By comparison, only 0.1 tonnes of the greenhouse gas is generated in Ethiopia per inhabitant." [31]

A 2021 study published in Frontiers in Conservation Science posits that aggregate consumption growth will continue into the near future and perhaps beyond, largely due to increasing affluence and population growth. The authors argue that "there is no way—ethically or otherwise (barring extreme and unprecedented increases in human mortality)—to avoid rising human numbers and the accompanying overconsumption", although they do say that the negative impacts of overconsumption can perhaps be diminished by implementing human rights policies to lower fertility rates and decelerate current consumption patterns. [32]

Effects on health

A report from the Lancet Commission says the same. The experts write: "Until now, undernutrition and obesity have been seen as polar opposites of either too few or too many calories," "In reality, they are both driven by the same unhealthy, inequitable food systems, underpinned by the same political economy that is single-focused on economic growth, and ignores the negative health and equity outcomes. Climate change has the same story of profits and power,". [33] Obesity was a medical problem for people who overconsumed food and worked too little already in ancient Rome, and its impact slowly grew through history. [34] As to 2012, mortality from obesity was 3 times larger than from hunger, [35] reaching 2.8 million people per year by 2017 [36]

Overuse of artificial energy, for example, in cars, hurts health and the planet. Promoting active living and reducing sedentary lifestyle, for example, by cycling, reduces greenhouse gas emissions and improve health [37] [38]

Global estimates

In 2010, the International Resource Panel published the first global scientific assessment on the impacts of consumption and production. [39] The study found that the most critical impacts are related to ecosystem health, human health and resource depletion. From a production perspective, it found that fossil-fuel combustion processes, agriculture and fisheries have the most important impacts. Meanwhile, from a final consumption perspective, it found that household consumption related to mobility, shelter, food, and energy-using products causes the majority of life-cycle impacts of consumption.

According to the IPCC Fifth Assessment Report, human consumption, with current policy, by the year 2100 will be seven times bigger than in the year 2010. [40]

Footprint

The planet can’t support billions of meat-eaters.

—David Attenborough, natural historian [41]

The idea of overconsumption is also strongly tied to the idea of an ecological footprint. The term "ecological footprint" refers to the "resource accounting framework for measuring human demand on the biosphere." Currently, China, for instance, has a per person ecological footprint roughly half the size of the US, yet has a population that is more than four times the size of the US. It is estimated that if China developed to the level of the United States that world consumption rates would roughly double. [42]

Humans, their prevailing growth of demands for livestock and other domestic animals, has added overshoot through domestic animal breeding, keeping, and consumption, especially with the environmentally destructive industrial livestock production. [ citation needed ] Globalization and modernization have brought Western consumer cultures to countries like China and India, including meat-intensive diets which are supplanting traditional plant-based diets. Between 166 to more than 200 billion land and aquatic animals are consumed by a global population of over 7 billion annually. [43] [44] A 2018 study published in Science postulates that meat consumption is set to increase as the result of human population growth and rising affluence, which will increase greenhouse gas emissions and further reduce biodiversity. [45] Meat consumption needs to be reduced in order to make agriculture sustainable by up to 90% according to a 2018 study published in Nature . [46]

Ecological footprint for many years has been used by environmentalists as a way to quantify ecological degradation as it relates to an individual. Recently, there has been debate about the reliability of this method. [47]

Biomass of mammals on Earth [48] [49]

   Livestock, mostly cattle and pigs (60%)
   Humans (36%)
   Wild animals (4%)

Counteractions

The most obvious solution to the issue of overconsumption is to simply slow the rate at which materials are becoming depleted. From a capitalistic point of view, less consumption has negative effects on economies and so instead, countries must look to curb consumption rates but also allow for new industries, such as renewable energy and recycling technologies, to flourish and deflect some of the economic burdens. Some movements think that a reduction in consumption in some cases can benefit the economy and society. They think that a fundamental shift in the global economy may be necessary to account for the current change that is taking place or that will need to take place. Movements and lifestyle choices related to stopping overconsumption include: anti-consumerism, freeganism, green economics, ecological economics, degrowth, frugality, downshifting, simple living, minimalism, the slow movement, and thrifting.

Many consider the final target of the movements as arriving to a steady-state economy in which the rate of consumption is optimal for health and environment. [50]

Recent grassroots movements have been coming up with creative ways to decrease the number of goods we consume. The Freecycle Network is a network of people in one's community that are willing to trade goods for other goods or services. It is a new take on thrifting while still being beneficial to both parties. [51]

Other researchers and movements such as the Zeitgeist Movement suggest a new socioeconomic model which, through a structural increase of efficiency, collaboration and locality in production as well as effective sharing, increased modularity, sustainability and optimal design of products, are expected to reduce resource-consumption. [52] Solutions offered include consumers using market forces to influence businesses towards more sustainable manufacturing and products. [53]

Another way to reduce consumption is to slow population growth by improving family planning services worldwide. In developing countries, more than 200 million women do not have adequate access. [54] Women's empowerment in these countries will also result in smaller families.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable development</span> Mode of human development

Sustainable development is an organizing principle for meeting human development goals while also sustaining the ability of natural systems to provide the natural resources and ecosystem services on which the economy and society depend. The desired result is a state of society where living conditions and resources are used to continue to meet human needs without undermining the integrity and stability of the natural system. Sustainable development was defined in the 1987 Brundtland Report as "development that meets the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs". As the concept of sustainable development developed, it has shifted its focus more towards the economic development, social development and environmental protection for future generations.

<i>I = PAT</i>

I = (PAT) is the mathematical notation of a formula put forward to describe the impact of human activity on the environment.

Uneconomic growth Economic growth that reflects or creates a decline in the quality of life

Uneconomic growth is economic growth that reflects or creates a decline in the quality of life. The concept is used in human development theory, welfare theory, and ecological economics. It is usually attributed to ecological economist Herman Daly, though other theorists may also be credited for the incipient idea, According to Daly, "uneconomic growth occurs when increases in production come at an expense in resources and well-being that is worth more than the items made." The cost, or decline in well-being, associated with extended economic growth is argued to arise as a result of "the social and environmental sacrifices made necessary by that growing encroachment on the eco-system."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ecological economics</span> Interdependence of human economies and natural ecosystems

Ecological economics, bioeconomics, ecolonomy, eco-economics, or ecol-econ is both a transdisciplinary and an interdisciplinary field of academic research addressing the interdependence and coevolution of human economies and natural ecosystems, both intertemporally and spatially. By treating the economy as a subsystem of Earth's larger ecosystem, and by emphasizing the preservation of natural capital, the field of ecological economics is differentiated from environmental economics, which is the mainstream economic analysis of the environment. One survey of German economists found that ecological and environmental economics are different schools of economic thought, with ecological economists emphasizing strong sustainability and rejecting the proposition that physical (human-made) capital can substitute for natural capital.

Ecological footprint Individuals or a groups human demand on nature

The ecological footprint is a method promoted by the Global Footprint Network to measure human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people or an economy. It tracks this demand through an ecological accounting system. The accounts contrast the biologically productive area people use for their consumption to the biologically productive area available within a region or the world. In short, it is a measure of human impact on the environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Environmental degradation</span> Any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable

Environmental degradation is the deterioration of the environment through depletion of resources such as quality of air, water and soil; the destruction of ecosystems; habitat destruction; the extinction of wildlife; and pollution. It is defined as any change or disturbance to the environment perceived to be deleterious or undesirable.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Steady-state economy</span> Constant capital and population size

A steady-state economy is an economy made up of a constant stock of physical wealth (capital) and a constant population size. In effect, such an economy does not grow in the course of time. The term usually refers to the national economy of a particular country, but it is also applicable to the economic system of a city, a region, or the entire world. Early in the history of economic thought, classical economist Adam Smith of the 18th century developed the concept of a stationary state of an economy: Smith believed that any national economy in the world would sooner or later settle in a final state of stationarity.

Sustainable urban infrastructure

Sustainable urban infrastructure expands on the concept of urban infrastructure by adding the sustainability element with the expectation of improved and more resilient urban development. In the construction and physical and organizational structures that enable cities to function, sustainability also aims to meet the needs of the present generation without compromising the capabilities of the future generations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human overpopulation</span> Proposed condition wherein human numbers exceed the carrying capacity of the environment

Human overpopulation is the concept of a human population becoming too large to be sustained by its environment or resources in the long term. The idea is usually discussed in the context of world population, though it may also concern regions. Human population growth has increased in recent centuries due to medical advancements and improved agricultural productivity. Those concerned by this trend argue that it results in a level of resource consumption which exceeds the environment's carrying capacity, leading to population overshoot. The concept is often discussed in relation to other population concerns such as demographic push and depopulation, as well as in relation to resource depletion and the human impact on the environment.

Anthropogenic metabolism, also referred to as metabolism of the anthroposphere, is a term used in industrial ecology, material flow analysis, and waste management to describe the material and energy turnover of human society. It emerges from the application of systems thinking to the industrial and other man-made activities and it is a central concept of sustainable development. In modern societies, the bulk of anthropogenic (man-made) material flows is related to one of the following activities: sanitation, transportation, habitation, and communication, which were "of little metabolic significance in prehistoric times". Global man-made stocks of steel in buildings, infrastructure, and vehicles, for example, amount to about 25 Gigatonnes, a figure that is surpassed only by construction materials such as concrete. Sustainable development is closely linked to the design of a sustainable anthropogenic metabolism, which will entail substantial changes in the energy and material turnover of the different human activities. Anthropogenic metabolism can be seen as synonymous to social or socioeconomic metabolism. It comprises both industrial metabolism and urban metabolism.

Outline of sustainability Overview of and topical guide to sustainability

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to sustainability:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainable consumption</span>

Sustainable consumption is the use of products and services in ways that minimize impacts on the environment in order for human needs to be met in the present but also for future generations. Sustainable consumption is often paralleled with sustainable production; consumption refers to use and disposal not just by individuals and households, but also by governments, businesses, and other organizations. Sustainable consumption is closely related to sustainable production and sustainable lifestyles. "A sustainable lifestyle minimizes ecological impacts while enabling a flourishing life for individuals, households, communities, and beyond. It is the product of individual and collective decisions about aspirations and about satisfying needs and adopting practices, which are in turn conditioned, facilitated, and constrained by societal norms, political institutions, public policies, infrastructures, markets, and culture."

Degrowth is a term used for both a political, economic, and social movement as well as a set of theories that critiques the paradigm of economic growth. It can be described as an extensive framework that is based on critiques of the growth-centered economic system in which we are living. Degrowth is based on ideas from a diverse range of lines of thought such as political ecology, ecological economics, feminist political ecology, and environmental justice, pointing out the social and ecological harm caused by the pursuit of infinite growth and Western "development" imperatives. Degrowth emphasizes the need to reduce global consumption and production and advocates a socially just and ecologically sustainable society with social and environmental well-being replacing GDP as the indicator of prosperity. Hence, although GDP is likely to shrink in a "Degrowth society", i.e. a society in which the objectives of the degrowth movement are achieved, this is not the primary objective of degrowth. Though the view is not supported by substantial quantitative evidence, the main argument of degrowth advocates is that an infinite expansion of the economy is fundamentally contradictory to finite planetary boundaries.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sustainability</span> Capacity to endure in a relatively ongoing way

Sustainability is a societal goal that broadly aims for humans to safely co-exist on planet Earth over a long time. Specific definitions of sustainability are difficult to agree on and therefore vary in the literature and over time. This concept can be used to guide decisions at the global, national and individual level. In everyday usage of the term, sustainability is often focused on the environmental aspects. The most dominant environmental issues since around 2000 have been climate change, loss of biodiversity, loss of ecosystem services, land degradation, and air and water pollution. Humanity is now exceeding several "planetary boundaries".

In environmental science, the concept of overshoot means demand in excess of regeneration. It can apply to animal populations and people. Environmental science studies to what extent human populations through their resource consumption have risen above the sustainable use of resources. For people, "overshoot" is that portion of their demand or ecological footprint which must be eliminated to be sustainable. Excessive demand leading to overshoot is driven by both consumption and population.

The history of environmental pollution traces human-dominated ecological systems from the earliest civilizations to the present day. This history is characterized by the increased regional success of a particular society, followed by crises that were either resolved, producing sustainability, or not, leading to decline. In early human history, the use of fire and desire for specific foods may have altered the natural composition of plant and animal communities. Between 8,000 and 12,000 years ago, agrarian communities emerged which depended largely on their environment and the creation of a "structure of permanence."

In economic and environmental fields, decoupling refers to an economy that would be able to grow without corresponding increases in environmental pressure. In many economies, increasing production (GDP) currently raises pressure on the environment. An economy that would be able to sustain economic growth while reducing the amount of resources such as water or fossil fuels used and delink environmental deterioration at the same time would be said to be decoupled. Environmental pressure is often measured using emissions of pollutants, and decoupling is often measured by the emission intensity of economic output. Examples of absolute long-term decoupling are rare, but recently some industrialized countries have decoupled GDP growth from both production- and, to a lesser extent, consumption-based CO2 emissions.

Resource consumption is about the consumption of non-renewable, or less often, renewable resources. Specifically, it may refer to:

Sustainable population Proposed sustainable human population of Earth

Sustainable population refers to a proposed sustainable human population of Earth or a particular region of Earth, such as a nation or continent. Estimates vary widely, with estimates based on different figures ranging from 0.65 billion people to 98 billion, with 8 billion people being a typical estimate. Projections of population growth, evaluations of overconsumption and associated human pressures on the environment have led to some to advocate for what they consider a sustainable population. Proposed policy solutions vary, including sustainable development, female education, family planning and broad human population planning.

Ecological overshoot Phenomenon

Ecological overshoot is the phenomenon which occurs when the demands made on a natural ecosystem exceeds its regenerative capacity. Global ecological overshoot occurs when the demands made by humanity exceed what the biosphere of Earth can provide through its capacity for renewal.

References

  1. ↑ Kjellberg, H. (2008). Market practices and over‐consumption. Consumption, Markets, and Culture, 11(2), 151-167.
  2. ↑ Baste, Ivar A; Watson, Robert T, eds. (18 February 2021). Making peace with nature: a scientific blueprint to tackle the climate, biodiversity and pollution emergencies (PDF). Nairobi, Kenya: United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP). ISBN   978-92-807-3837-7 . Retrieved 2021-03-11. Job no DEW/2335/NA. See document for conditions of reuse.
  3. ↑ Bradshaw, Corey J. A.; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Beattie, Andrew; Ceballos, Gerardo; Crist, Eileen; Diamond, Joan; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Ehrlich, Anne H.; Harte, John; Harte, Mary Ellen; Pyke, Graham; Raven, Peter H.; Ripple, William J.; Saltré, Frédérik; Turnbull, Christine; Wackernagel, Mathis; Blumstein, Daniel T. (2021). "Response: Commentary: Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future". Frontiers in Conservation Science. 2. doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2021.700869 . ...we devoted an entire section to the interacting and inter-dependent components of overpopulation and overconsumption, which are, for instance, also central tenets of the recent Economics of Biodiversity review (Dasgupta, 2021). Therein, the dynamic socio-ecological model shows that mutual causation drives modern socio-ecological systems. Just as it is incorrect to insist that a large global population is the sole underlying cause of biodiversity loss, so too is it naïve and incorrect to claim that high consumption alone is the cause, and so forth.
  4. ↑ Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R; Dirzo, Rodolfo (23 May 2017). "Biological annihilation via the ongoing sixth mass extinction signaled by vertebrate population losses and declines". PNAS . 114 (30): E6089–E6096. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1704949114 . PMC   5544311 . PMID   28696295. Much less frequently mentioned are, however, the ultimate drivers of those immediate causes of biotic destruction, namely, human overpopulation and continued population growth, and overconsumption, especially by the rich. These drivers, all of which trace to the fiction that perpetual growth can occur on a finite planet, are themselves increasing rapidly.
  5. ↑ Ceballos, Gerardo; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Barnosky, Anthony D.; García, Andrés; Pringle, Robert M.; Palmer, Todd M. (2015). "Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction". Science Advances . 1 (5): e1400253. Bibcode:2015SciA....1E0253C. doi:10.1126/sciadv.1400253. PMC   4640606 . PMID   26601195. All of these are related to human population size and growth, which increases consumption (especially among the rich), and economic inequity.
  6. ↑ Diamond, Jared: (2008-01-02). "What's Your Consumption Factor?" The New York Times
  7. ↑ Buchholz, K. (July 14, 2020). Global Purchasing Power is Moving South [Digital image]. Retrieved October 30, 2021, https://www.statista.com/chart/17805/countries-with-the-biggest-purchasing-power/
  8. ↑ Biologists say half of all species could be extinct by end of the century. The Guardian. February 25, 2017.
  9. ↑ Li, J., & Yu, K. (2011). A study on legislative and policy tools for promoting the circular economic model for waste management in China. Journal of Material Cycles and Waste Management, 13(2), 103-112.
  10. ↑ Gao, J., & Tian, M. (2016). Analysis of over-consumption of natural resources and the ecological trade deficit in China based on ecological footprints. Ecological Indicators, 61, 899-904.
  11. ↑ Pan, J. (2012). From industrial toward ecological in China. Science, 336(6087), 1397-1397.
  12. ↑ Renner, Michael (January 2006). "Chapter 1: China, India, and the New World Order". State of the world 2005: A Worldwatch Institute Report on progress toward a sustainable society . New York: W.W. Norton. ISBN   0-393-32666-7. OCLC   57470324 . Retrieved 2009-09-14.
  13. ↑ Ripple, William J.; Wolf, Christopher; Newsome, Thomas M; Barnard, Phoebe; Moomaw, William R (November 5, 2019). "World Scientists' Warning of a Climate Emergency". BioScience . 70: 8–12. doi:10.1093/biosci/biz088. hdl: 1808/30278 . Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  14. ↑ Carrington, Damian (November 5, 2019). "Climate crisis: 11,000 scientists warn of 'untold suffering'". The Guardian . Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  15. ↑ Stokstad, Erik (5 May 2019). "Landmark analysis documents the alarming global decline of nature". Science . AAAS . Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  16. ↑ Blest, Paul (May 6, 2019). "The Planet Is Going Extinct and the People in Power Don't Seem to Care". Splinter News . Retrieved September 1, 2020.
  17. ↑ The World Bank Group - www.worldbank.org. (n.d.). The developing world’s 4.5 billion low-income people already have a $5 trillion market. Retrieved November 05, 2017, from http://datatopics.worldbank.org/consumption/market
  18. ↑ The 25 Largest Consumer's Markets ... And The Outlook For 2015. (n.d.). Retrieved November 05, 2017, from https://www.internationalbusinessguide.org/25-largest-consumers-markets-outlook-2015/
  19. ↑ "The Story of Stuff" – via www.youtube.com.
  20. ↑ Kuppelweiser, Volker G; Klaus, Phil; Manthiou, Aikaterini; Boujena, Othman (March 2019). "Consumer Responses to planned obsolescence". Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services. 47: 157–165. doi:10.1016/j.jretconser.2018.11.014. S2CID   169359689.
  21. ↑ Fleming, Sean. "This is now the world's greatest threat – and it's not coronavirus". World Economic Forum. World Economic forum. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
  22. ↑ Nafeez, Ahmed. "Theoretical Physicists Say 90% Chance of Societal Collapse Within Several Decades". Vice. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  23. ↑ Bologna, Mauro; Aquino, Gerardo (2020-05-06). "Deforestation and world population sustainability: a quantitative analysis". Scientific Reports . 10 (1): 7631. arXiv: 2006.12202 . Bibcode:2020NatSR..10.7631B. doi:10.1038/s41598-020-63657-6. PMC   7203172 . PMID   32376879.
  24. ↑ Vidal, John (25 April 2012). "World needs to stabilise population and cut consumption, says Royal Society". The Guardian. Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  25. ↑ Nierenberg, Danielle. State of the World 2006: a Worldwatch Institute report on progress toward a sustainable society. New York; London: W.W. Norton. OCLC   62865904.
  26. ↑ Smith, R. (1993). "Overpopulation and overconsumption". BMJ. 306 (6888): 1285–1286. doi:10.1136/bmj.306.6888.1285. PMC   1677767 . PMID   8518566 . Retrieved 6 May 2018.
  27. ↑ Effects of Over-Consumption and Increasing Populations. 26 September 2001. Retrieved on 19 June 2007
  28. ↑ Brown, Lester R. (2011). World on the Edge: How to Prevent Environmental and Economic Collapse. Earth Policy Institute. Norton. p. 7. ISBN   978-1136540752.
  29. ↑ Archived at Ghostarchive and the Wayback Machine : "The Story of Stuff" – via www.youtube.com.
  30. ↑ "Use It and Lose It: The Outsize Effect of U.S. Consumption on the Environment". Scientific American . 14 September 2012.
  31. ↑ "Bernie Sanders in climate change 'population control' uproar". BBC News. 5 September 2019.
  32. ↑ Bradshaw, Corey J. A.; Ehrlich, Paul R.; Beattie, Andrew; Ceballos, Gerardo; Crist, Eileen; Diamond, Joan; Dirzo, Rodolfo; Ehrlich, Anne H.; Harte, John; Harte, Mary Ellen; Pyke, Graham; Raven, Peter H.; Ripple, William J.; Saltré, Frédérik; Turnbull, Christine; Wackernagel, Mathis; Blumstein, Daniel T. (2021). "Underestimating the Challenges of Avoiding a Ghastly Future". Frontiers in Conservation Science. 1. doi: 10.3389/fcosc.2020.615419 .
  33. ↑ Rosane, Olivia (29 January 2019). "Experts Issue Urgent Call to Act on Triple Threat of Obesity, Malnutrition and Climate Change". Ecowatch. Retrieved 16 August 2019.
  34. ↑ Haslam, D. (19 February 2007). "Obesity: a medical history". Obesity Reviews. 8 (s1): 31–36. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-789X.2007.00314.x . PMID   17316298. S2CID   43866948.
  35. ↑ Adams, Stephen (13 December 2012). "Obesity killing three times as many as malnutrition". The Telegraph. Retrieved 29 September 2019.
  36. ↑ "10 facts on obesity". World Health Organization. World Health Organization. Retrieved 14 November 2019.
  37. ↑ Blondel, Benoît; Mispelon, Chloé; Ferguson, Julian (November 2011). Cycle more Often 2 cool down the planet (PDF). European Cyclists' Federation. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 February 2019. Retrieved 16 April 2019.
  38. ↑ Quam, Vivian G. M.; Rocklöv, Joacim; Quam, Mikkel B. M.; Lucas, Rebekah A. I. (2017). "Assessing Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Health Co-Benefits: A Structured Review of Lifestyle-Related Climate Change Mitigation Strategies". International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 14 (5): 468. doi: 10.3390/ijerph14050468 . PMC   5451919 . PMID   28448460.
  39. ↑ Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production: Priority Products and Materials Archived 13 May 2016 at the Portuguese Web Archive 2010, International Resource Panel, United Nations Environment Programme
  40. ↑ Pachauri, R.K.; Meyer, L.A. (2014). Climate Change 2014: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I, II and III to the Fifth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (PDF). Geneva, Switzerland: IPCC. p. 24. Retrieved 10 May 2020.
  41. ↑ Dalton, Jane (August 26, 2020). "Go vegetarian to save wildlife and the planet, Sir David Attenborough urges" . The Independent. Archived from the original on 2022-05-24. Retrieved February 9, 2021.
  42. ↑ Diamond, Jared: (2008-01-02). "What's Your Consumption Factor?" The New York Times
  43. ↑ Best, Steven (2014). The Politics of Total Liberation: Revolution for the 21st Century. Palgrave Macmillan. p. 97. ISBN   978-1137471116.
  44. ↑ Benatar, David (2015). "The Misanthropic Argument for Anti-natalism". In S. Hannan; S. Brennan; R. Vernon (eds.). Permissible Progeny?: The Morality of Procreation and Parenting. Oxford University Press. p. 44. ISBN   978-0199378128.
  45. ↑ Devlin, Hannah (July 19, 2018). "Rising global meat consumption 'will devastate environment'". The Guardian. Retrieved July 26, 2018.
  46. ↑ Willett, Walter; Rockström, Johan; Tilman, David; Godfray, H. Charles J.; Fanzo, Jess; Loken, Brent; Rayner, Mike; Scarborough, Peter; Zurayk, Rami (October 2018). "Options for keeping the food system within environmental limits". Nature. 562 (7728): 519–525. Bibcode:2018Natur.562..519S. doi:10.1038/s41586-018-0594-0. ISSN   1476-4687. PMID   30305731. S2CID   52954514.
  47. ↑ Jóhannesson, Sigurður (April 2020). "Data Accuracy in Ecological Footprint's Carbon Footprint". Ecological Indicators. 111: 105983. doi:10.1016/j.ecolind.2019.105983. S2CID   214184428.
  48. ↑ Carrington, Damian (21 May 2018). "Humans just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals – study". The Guardian. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
  49. ↑ Baillie, Jonathan; Zhang, Ya-Ping (2018). "Space for nature". Science. 361 (6407): 1051. Bibcode:2018Sci...361.1051B. doi: 10.1126/science.aau1397 . PMID   30213888.
  50. ↑ Kerschner, Christian (10 November 2009). "Economic de-growth vs. steady-state economy" (PDF). Journal of Cleaner Production. 18 (2010). Retrieved 6 September 2019.
  51. ↑ "The Freecycle Network". www.freecycle.org. Retrieved 2017-05-18.
  52. ↑ The Zeitgeist Movement - Frequently Asked Questions Archived 2012-08-15 at the Wayback Machine Retrieved on 6 May 2014
  53. ↑ Derraik, J. (2002). The pollution of the marine environment by plastic debris: a review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 22(9), pp. 842-852. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0025-326X(02)00220-5
  54. ↑ "The Benefits of Investing in International Family Planning—and the Price of Slashing Funding". Guttmacher Institute. 2017-07-20. Retrieved 2019-01-23.

Further reading

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.