Overconsumption
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Overconsumption describes a situation where
consumer A consumer is a person or a group who intends to order, or use purchased goods, products, or services primarily for personal, social, family, household and similar needs, who is not directly related to entrepreneurial or business activities. ...
s overuse their available
goods and services Goods are items that are usually (but not always) tangible, such as pens or Apple, apples. Services are activities provided by other people, such as teachers or barbers. Taken together, it is the Production (economics), production, distributio ...
to where they can't, or don't want to, replenish or reuse them. In
microeconomics Microeconomics is a branch of economics that studies the behavior of individuals and Theory of the firm, firms in making decisions regarding the allocation of scarcity, scarce resources and the interactions among these individuals and firms. M ...
, this is the point where the
marginal cost In economics, the marginal cost is the change in the total cost that arises when the quantity produced is increased, i.e. the cost of producing additional quantity. In some contexts, it refers to an increment of one unit of output, and in others it ...
of a consumer is greater than their
marginal utility Marginal utility, in mainstream economics, describes the change in ''utility'' (pleasure or satisfaction resulting from the consumption) of one unit of a good or service. Marginal utility can be positive, negative, or zero. Negative marginal utilit ...
. The term overconsumption is quite controversial and does not necessarily have a single unifying definition. When used to refer to natural resources to the point where the environment is negatively affected, it is synonymous with the term
overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...
. However, when used in the broader economic sense, overconsumption can refer to all types of goods and services, including artificial ones, e.g., "the overconsumption of
alcohol Alcohol may refer to: Common uses * Alcohol (chemistry), a class of compounds * Ethanol, one of several alcohols, commonly known as alcohol in everyday life ** Alcohol (drug), intoxicant found in alcoholic beverages ** Alcoholic beverage, an alco ...
can lead to alcohol poisoning." Overconsumption is driven by several factors of the current
global economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, econ ...
, including forces like
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
,
planned obsolescence In economics and industrial design, planned obsolescence (also called built-in obsolescence or premature obsolescence) is the concept of policies planning or designing a good (economics), product with an artificially limited Product lifetime, u ...
,
economic materialism Economic materialism can be described as either a personal attitude that attaches importance to acquiring (and often consuming) material goods, or as a logistical analysis of how physical resources are shaped into consumable products. The use ...
, and other unsustainable business models, and can be contrasted with
sustainable consumption Sustainable consumption (sometimes abbreviated to "SC") is the use of products and services in ways that minimizes human impact on the environment, impacts on the environment. Sustainable consumption can be undertaken in such a way that needs are ...
. Defining the amount of a
natural resource Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...
required to be consumed for it to count as "overconsumption" is challenging because defining a sustainable capacity of the system requires accounting for many variables. A system's total capacity occurs at regional and worldwide levels, which means that specific 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 region or ecological system can cause a reduction in natural resources, often resulting in
environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
. However, this is only when applying the word to environmental impacts. When used in an economic sense, this point is defined as when the marginal cost of a consumer is equal to their marginal utility. Gossen's law of diminishing utility states that at this point, the consumer realizes the cost of consuming/purchasing another item/good is not worth the amount of
utility In economics, utility is a measure of a certain person's satisfaction from a certain state of the world. Over time, the term has been used with at least two meanings. * In a normative context, utility refers to a goal or objective that we wish ...
(also known as happiness or satisfaction from the good) they'd receive, and therefore is not conducive to the consumer's wellbeing. When used in the environmental sense, the discussion of overconsumption often parallels population size, growth, and
human development Human development may refer to: * Development of the human body ** This includes physical developments such as growth, and also development of the brain * Developmental psychology * Development theory * Human development (economics) * Human Develo ...
: more people demanding a higher quality of living requires greater extraction of resources, which causes subsequent
environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
, such as
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
and
biodiversity loss Biodiversity loss happens when plant or animal species disappear completely from Earth (extinction) or when there is a decrease or disappearance of species in a specific area. Biodiversity loss means that there is a reduction in Biodiversity, b ...
. Job no DEW/2335/NA. See document for conditions of reuse. Currently, the inhabitants of high-wealth, "developed" nations consume resources at a rate almost 32 times greater than those of the developing world, making up most of the human population (7.9 billion people). However, the developing world is a growing consumer market. These nations are quickly gaining more purchasing power. The Global South, which includes cities in Asia, America, and Africa, is expected to account for 56% of consumption growth by 2030, meaning 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 Sustainable Development Goal 12 (SDG 12 or Global Goal 12), titled "responsible consumption and production", is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations in 2015. The official wording of SDG 12 is "Ensure sus ...
, "responsible consumption and production", is the main international policy tool with goals to abate the impact of overconsumption.


Causes


Economic growth

Economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...
is sometimes seen as a driver for overconsumption due to a growing economy requiring compounding amounts of 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. By 1983, China's consumption surpassed the biocapacity of their natural resources, leading to overconsumption. In the last 30–40 years, China has seen significant increases in its pollution,
land degradation Land degradation is a process where land becomes less healthy and productive due to a combination of Human impact on the environment, human activities or natural conditions. The causes for land degradation are numerous and complex. Human activitie ...
, and non-renewable resource depletion, which aligns with its considerable economic growth. It is unknown if other rapidly developing nations will see similar trends in resource overconsumption. The
Worldwatch Institute The Worldwatch Institute was a globally focused environmental research organization based in Washington, D.C., founded by Lester R. Brown. Worldwatch was named as one of the top ten sustainable development research organizations by Globescan S ...
said China and India, with their booming economies, along with the United States, are the three planetary forces that are shaping the global
biosphere The biosphere (), also called the ecosphere (), is the worldwide sum of all ecosystems. It can also be termed the zone of life on the Earth. The biosphere (which is technically a spherical shell) is virtually a closed system with regard to mat ...
. The State of the World 2005 report said the two countries' high
economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...
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 ''Climate crisis'' is a term that is used to describe global warming and climate change and their effects. This term and the term ''climate emergency'' have been used to emphasize the threat of global warming to Earth's natural environment an ...
signed by 11,000 scientists from over 150 nations said economic growth is the driving force behind the "excessive extraction of materials and
overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...
of ecosystems" and that this "must be quickly curtailed to maintain long-term sustainability of the biosphere". Also in 2019, the ''
Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services The ''Global Assessment Report on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services'' is a report by the Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services, on the global state of biodiversity. A summary for policymakers was relea ...
'' published by the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
'
Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services The Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES) is an intergovernmental organization established to improve communication between science and policy on issues of biodiversity and ecosystem services. It ...
, which found that up to one million species of plants and animals are at risk of
extinction Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...
from human activity, 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.
In addition,
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
has amplified resource overuse as developing economies serve as manufacturing hubs for wealthier nations. This results in an "outsourcing" of pollution and resource depletion, with developed countries benefiting from consumption while production-related ecological damage accumulates elsewhere. Philip Cafaro, professor of philosophy at the School of Global Environmental Sustainability at
Colorado State University Colorado State University (Colorado State or CSU) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fort Collins, Colorado, United States. It is the flagship university of the Colorado State University Syst ...
, wrote in 2022 that a scientific consensus has emerged which demonstrates that humanity is on the precipice of unleashing a major
extinction event An extinction event (also known as a mass extinction or biotic crisis) is a widespread and rapid decrease in the biodiversity on Earth. Such an event is identified by a sharp fall in the diversity and abundance of multicellular organisms. It occ ...
, and that a major driver of this is a "rapidly growing human economy". While often seen as a solution, technology can paradoxically contribute to increased resource use. The
Jevons Paradox In economics, the Jevons paradox (; sometimes Jevons effect) occurs when technological advancements make a resource more efficient to use (thereby reducing the amount needed for a single application); however, as the cost of using the resourc ...
suggests that improvements in energy efficiency lead to greater overall consumption rather than reduced demand. For example, while China has invested heavily in
renewable energy Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
, overall energy demand continues to rise due to
economic expansion An economic expansion is an upturn in the level of economic activity and of the goods and services available. It is a finite period of growth, often measured by a rise in real GDP, that marks a reversal from a previous period, for example, whi ...
, offsetting sustainability gains. Furthermore, culturally, economic growth has fostered
materialism Materialism is a form of monism, philosophical monism according to which matter is the fundamental Substance theory, substance in nature, and all things, including mind, mental states and consciousness, are results of material interactions. Acco ...
and
consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
as indicators of success, further exacerbating overconsumption. Advertising, planned obsolescence, and fast economic cycles create a continuous push for higher consumption, making it challenging to curb unsustainable resource use. Thus, while
economic growth In economics, economic growth is an increase in the quantity and quality of the economic goods and Service (economics), services that a society Production (economics), produces. It can be measured as the increase in the inflation-adjusted Outp ...
is often seen as a marker of progress, it comes at a significant environmental cost. Without structural changes in global monetary policies, consumer behavior, and production models, overconsumption will likely continue accelerating alongside
economic expansion An economic expansion is an upturn in the level of economic activity and of the goods and services available. It is a finite period of growth, often measured by a rise in real GDP, that marks a reversal from a previous period, for example, whi ...
.


Consumerism

Consumerism Consumerism is a socio-cultural and economic phenomenon that is typical of industrialized societies. It is characterized by the continuous acquisition of goods and services in ever-increasing quantities. In contemporary consumer society, the ...
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.Consumerism likewise refers to a preoccupation with purchasing goods that are not necessary for personal or family survival, and a value system that makes this preoccupation an important component of individual and social evaluation. When the resources required to produce these goods and services are depleted beyond a reasonable level, it can be considered to be overconsumption. Third World countries, here referred to as "developing countries", have certain general characteristics, such as relatively low per capita economic structures, occupational concentrations in agriculture and animal husbandry, high levels of urbanization, high population growth rates, and low levels of education.Despite the diversity of the socio-cultural environment of consumers in developing countries, they face similar economic problems. The socio-economic environment is transitional, with self-sufficient consumers at one end and urban elites with purchasing power who can enjoy a Western lifestyle at the other. Because developing nations are rising quickly into the consumer class, the trends happening in these nations are of special interest. One prominent example is China's economic reforms in the late 1970s, in which the previously economically isolated state opened to foreign investment. Some argue that this economic revolution's outcome was most significantly influenced by foreign consumer economies, while others focus on China's internal market developments. Regardless, there as been much interest placed upon China's economic, political, and social shift towards consumerism. According to the World Bank, the highest shares of consumption, regardless of income lie in food, beverage, clothing, and footwear. As of 2015, the top five consumer markets in the world were the United States, Japan, Germany, China, and France. Planned and perceived obsolescence is an important factor that explains why some overconsumption of consumer products exists. 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.The dark side of this vicious cycle is that we have no choice but to keep replacing certain products, which results in a huge amount of waste, known as e-waste.


Affluence

According to a 2020 paper written by a team of scientists titled "Scientists' warning on affluence", the entrenchment of "capitalist, growth-driven economic systems" since World War II gave rise to increasing affluence along with "enormous increases in inequality, financial instability, resource consumption and environmental pressures on vital earth support systems". And the world's wealthiest citizens, referred to as "super-affluent consumers . . . which overlap with powerful fractions of the capitalist class," are the most responsible for environmental impacts through their consumption patterns worldwide. Any
sustainable Sustainability is a social goal for people to co-exist on Earth over a long period of time. Definitions of this term are disputed and have varied with literature, context, and time. Sustainability usually has three dimensions (or pillars): env ...
social and environmental pathways must include transcending paradigms fixated on economic growth and also reducing, not simply "
greening Greening is the process of transforming living environments, and also artifacts such as a space, a lifestyle (sociology), lifestyle or a brand image, into a more environmentally friendly version (i.e. 'greening your home' or 'greening your office ...
", the overconsumption of the super-affluent, the authors contend, and propose adopting either reformist policies which can be implemented within a capitalist framework such as wealth redistribution through taxation (in particular eco-taxes), green investments, basic income guarantees and reduced work hours to accomplish this, or looking to more radical approaches associated with
degrowth Degrowth is an Academic research, academic and social Social movement, movement critical of the concept of economic growth, growth in Real gross domestic product, gross domestic product as a measure of Human development (economics), human and econ ...
,
eco-socialism Eco-socialism (also known as green socialism, socialist ecology, ecological materialism, or revolutionary ecology) is an ideology merging aspects of socialism with that of green politics, ecology and alter-globalization or anti-globalization. E ...
and
eco-anarchism Green anarchism, also known as ecological anarchism or eco-anarchism, is an anarchist school of thought that focuses on ecology and environmental issues. It is an anti-capitalism, anti-capitalist and anti-authoritarianism, anti-authoritarian form ...
, which would "entail a shift beyond capitalism and/or current centralised states." In other words, the concentration of wealth allows the affluent to shape policies that maintain consumption-driven economies, limiting systemic change. A 2020 Oxfam-SEI report found that the top 10% of earners contribute over half of global
carbon emissions Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from human activities intensify the greenhouse effect. This contributes to climate change. Carbon dioxide (), from burning fossil fuels such as coal, petroleum, oil, and natural gas, is the main cause of climate chan ...
, while the wealthiest 1% emit more than double the poorest 50% combined. While green technologies offer solutions, the
Jevons Paradox In economics, the Jevons paradox (; sometimes Jevons effect) occurs when technological advancements make a resource more efficient to use (thereby reducing the amount needed for a single application); however, as the cost of using the resourc ...
suggests efficiency gains often lead to increased overall consumption rather than reductions. Thus, tackling affluence-driven overconsumption requires progressive taxation on high-carbon activities, curbing luxury emissions, and shifting economic priorities from GDP growth to sustainability. Without intervention, extreme resource use by the wealthiest will continue to undermine global sustainability efforts.


Effects

A fundamental effect of overconsumption is a reduction in the planet's
carrying capacity The carrying capacity of an ecosystem is the maximum population size of a biological species that can be sustained by that specific environment, given the food, habitat, water, and other resources available. The carrying capacity is defined as the ...
. Excessive unsustainable consumption will exceed the long-term carrying capacity of its environment (
ecological overshoot Ecological overshoot is the phenomenon which occurs when the demands made on a natural ecosystem exceed its regenerative capacity. Global ecological overshoot occurs when the demands made by humanity exceed what the biosphere of Earth can provide ...
) and subsequently cause resource depletion,
environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
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 World Economic Forum (WEF) is an international non-governmental organization, international advocacy non-governmental organization and think tank, based in Cologny, Canton of Geneva, Switzerland. It was founded on 24 January 1971 by German ...
. The leader of the forum professor
Klaus Schwab Klaus Martin Schwab (; born 30 March 1938) is a German mechanical engineer, economist, and founder of the World Economic Forum (WEF). He acted as the WEF's chairman since founding the organisation from 1971 until 2025 when he was replaced by P ...
, calls for a "great reset of capitalism". A 2020 study published in ''
Scientific Reports ''Scientific Reports'' is a peer-reviewed open-access scientific mega journal published by Nature Portfolio, covering all areas of the natural sciences. The journal was established in 2011. The journal states that their aim is to assess solely ...
'', in which both
population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...
and
deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...
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". The scale of modern life's overconsumption can lead to a decline in economy and an increase in financial instability. Some argue that overconsumption enables the existence of an "overclass", while others disagree with the role of overconsumption in class inequality. Population, Development, and Poverty all coincide with overconsumption; how they interplay with each other is complex. Because of this complexity it is difficult to determine the role of consumption in terms of economic inequality. In the long term, these effects can lead to increased conflict over dwindling resources and in the worst case a
Malthusian catastrophe Malthusianism is a theory that population growth is potentially exponential, according to the Malthusian growth model, while the growth of the food supply or other resources is linear, which eventually reduces living standards to the point of tr ...
. 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." As of 2012, the
United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...
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 a third 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.Archived a
Ghostarchive
and th
Wayback Machine
According to
Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...
'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." According to BBC, a
World Bank The World Bank is an international financial institution that provides loans and Grant (money), grants to the governments of Least developed countries, low- and Developing country, middle-income countries for the purposes of economic development ...
study has found that "Americans produce 16.5 tonnes of
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
per capita every year. By comparison, only 0.1 tonnes of the greenhouse gas is generated in
Ethiopia Ethiopia, officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a landlocked country located in the Horn of Africa region of East Africa. It shares borders with Eritrea to the north, Djibouti to the northeast, Somalia to the east, Ken ...
per inhabitant." 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.


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,". 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. As to 2012, mortality from
obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...
was 3 times larger than from hunger, reaching 2.8 million people per year by 2017 Just as overconsumption of food has led to widespread health crises such as
obesity Obesity is a medical condition, considered by multiple organizations to be a disease, in which excess Adipose tissue, body fat has accumulated to such an extent that it can potentially have negative effects on health. People are classifi ...
and metabolic diseases, the overconsumption of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s has created an equally dire threat to both human health and the environment. Both forms of overconsumption stem from economic models that prioritize growth and short-term gains over long-term sustainability. While industrialized food systems have fueled rising obesity rates, the relentless burning of fossil fuels—especially coal—has exacerbated
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
,
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, and public health risks on a global scale. The overconsumption of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s, particularly coal, has profound implications for both environmental and human health. Burning fossil fuels releases a variety of harmful pollutants, including
sulfur dioxide Sulfur dioxide (IUPAC-recommended spelling) or sulphur dioxide (traditional Commonwealth English) is the chemical compound with the formula . It is a colorless gas with a pungent smell that is responsible for the odor of burnt matches. It is r ...
(SO2),
nitrogen oxides In atmospheric chemistry, is shorthand for nitric oxide () and nitrogen dioxide (), the nitrogen oxides that are most relevant for air pollution. These gases contribute to the formation of smog and acid rain, as well as affecting tr ...
(NOx),
particulate matter Particulate matter (PM) or particulates are microscopic particles of solid or liquid matter suspended in the air. An ''aerosol'' is a mixture of particulates and air, as opposed to the particulate matter alone, though it is sometimes defin ...
(PM), and
carbon dioxide Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound with the chemical formula . It is made up of molecules that each have one carbon atom covalent bond, covalently double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is found in a gas state at room temperature and at norma ...
(CO2). These emissions contribute to environmental issues such as
acid rain Acid rain is rain or any other form of Precipitation (meteorology), precipitation that is unusually acidic, meaning that it has elevated levels of hydrogen ions (low pH). Most water, including drinking water, has a neutral pH that exists b ...
,
smog Smog, or smoke fog, is a type of intense air pollution. The word "smog" was coined in the early 20th century, and is a portmanteau of the words ''smoke'' and ''fog'' to refer to smoky fog due to its opacity, and odour. The word was then inte ...
, and
climate change Present-day climate change includes both global warming—the ongoing increase in Global surface temperature, global average temperature—and its wider effects on Earth's climate system. Climate variability and change, Climate change in ...
, while also posing significant health risks. In addition, exposure to fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from fossil fuel combustion is associated with
respiratory disease Respiratory diseases, or lung diseases, are pathological conditions affecting the organs and tissues that make gas exchange difficult in air-breathing animals. They include conditions of the respiratory tract including the trachea, bronchi, ...
s,
cardiovascular diseases Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is any disease involving the heart or blood vessels. CVDs constitute a class of diseases that includes: coronary artery diseases (e.g. angina, heart attack), heart failure, hypertensive heart disease, rheuma ...
, and premature mortality. A 2021 study estimated that fossil fuel-related air pollution is responsible for over 10 million premature deaths annually worldwide. Coal-fired power plants are particularly detrimental, emitting toxic substances that adversely affect human health. Communities near these plants experience higher rates of
asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...
, lung disease, and other health issues.Workers at extraction sites and refineries face particularly severe occupational health risks, including end-stage respiratory diseases such as black lung disease, silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, mesothelioma and other cancers, as well as safety risks from industrial fires and explosions. In China, the extensive use of coal has led to severe
air pollution Air pollution is the presence of substances in the Atmosphere of Earth, air that are harmful to humans, other living beings or the environment. Pollutants can be Gas, gases like Ground-level ozone, ozone or nitrogen oxides or small particles li ...
, yet China's coal-fired power generation capacity is growing rapidly,resulting in significant public health challenges. The country's reliance on coal-fired power plants has been linked to increased respiratory illnesses and premature deaths. Thus, addressing the health impacts of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
overconsumption necessitates a transition to cleaner energy sources, implementation of stricter emission regulations, and promotion of sustainable practices to reduce reliance on fossil fuels.


Global estimates

In 2010, the International Resource Panel published the first global scientific assessment on the impacts of consumption and production. The study found that the most critical impacts are related to
ecosystem An ecosystem (or ecological system) is a system formed by Organism, organisms in interaction with their Biophysical environment, environment. The Biotic material, biotic and abiotic components are linked together through nutrient cycles and en ...
health, human health and
resource depletion Resource depletion occurs when a natural resource is consumed faster than it can be replenished. The value of a resource depends on its availability in nature and the cost of extracting it. By the law of supply and demand, the Scarcity, scarcer ...
. From a production perspective, it found that fossil-fuel combustion processes, agriculture and
fisheries Fishery can mean either the enterprise of raising or harvesting fish and other aquatic life or, more commonly, the site where such enterprise takes place ( a.k.a., fishing grounds). Commercial fisheries include wild fisheries and fish farm ...
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 The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the fifth in IPCC#Assessment reports, a series of such reports and was completed in 2014.IPCC (2014The IPCC's Fifth Assessment Report (A ...
, human consumption, with current policy, by the year 2100 will be seven times bigger than in the year 2010.


Footprint

The idea of overconsumption is also strongly tied to the idea of an
ecological footprint The ecological footprint measures human demand on natural capital, i.e. the quantity of nature it takes to support people and their economies. It tracks human demand on nature through an ecological accounting system. The accounts contrast the biolo ...
. 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.Diamond, Jared: (2008-01-02)
"What's Your Consumption Factor?"
''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
''
Other metrics have been formed to reflect different factors in calculating a country's carbon footprint. These include carbon intensity, which tracks carbon dioxide emissions per unit of GDP, of which China had 0.37 kilograms and the US had 0.25 kilograms in 2018, as well as consumption-based emissions, which attribute carbon emissions to the country in which a product is consumed, rather than the country in which it is produced. Accounting for such also has China at a higher emissions percentage, 25%, compared to the US's 16%. Humans, their prevailing growth of demands for
livestock Livestock are the Domestication, domesticated animals that are raised in an Agriculture, agricultural setting to provide labour and produce diversified products for consumption such as meat, Egg as food, eggs, milk, fur, leather, and wool. The t ...
and other
domestic animal This page gives a list of domesticated animals, also including a list of animals which are or may be currently undergoing the process of domestication and animals that have an extensive relationship with humans beyond simple predation. This includ ...
s, has added overshoot through domestic animal breeding, keeping, and consumption, especially with the environmentally destructive industrial livestock production.
Globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
and modernization have brought Western consumer cultures to countries like China and India, including meat-intensive diets which are supplanting traditional
plant-based diets A plant-based diet is a diet consisting mostly or entirely of plant-based foods. It encompasses a wide range of dietary patterns that contain low amounts of animal products and high amounts of fiber-rich plant products such as vegetables ...
. Between 166 to more than 200 billion land and aquatic animals are consumed by a global population of over 7 billion annually. A 2018 study published in ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' 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 Biodiversity is the variability of life, life on Earth. It can be measured on various levels. There is for example genetic variability, species diversity, ecosystem diversity and Phylogenetics, phylogenetic diversity. Diversity is not distribut ...
. Meat consumption needs to be reduced in order to make agriculture sustainable by up to 90% according to a 2018 study published in ''
Nature Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the Ecosphere (planetary), ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the Scientific law, laws, elements and phenomenon, phenomena of the physic ...
''. With the developments in consumerism and growing demands for consumption otherwise, the concept of the climate debt has arisen. The term refers to the idea that larger countries have, in broad terms, caused more damage to the environment than their share of the world. These larger countries are often centered around consumer societies and, as a result, are the biggest producers and consumers, meaning that they contribute to pollution from the beginning (production) of a product's life, all the way to the end (consumption and disposal). Additionally, such societies are built upon economic growth, which begets more pollution from consumerism. The term also encapsulates the related idea that developing countries are the places that are the most affected by climate change, both in their effects and their ability to respond to and recover from those effects. In total, some argue that there is a severely one sided disparity between nations that create many forms of pollution and those who create very little pollution, which aligns opposite to the disparity between nations who are affected by the pollution and those who are more well-supplied to handle it. Action upon repaying climate debt are proposed to be through reduction of emissions from the more developed, consumerist countries that are the biggest carbon emitters, which includes efforts to understand and heavily limit the extent to which they should reasonably emit greenhouse gasses in relation to their geographical and political boundaries. Additionally, action is proposed to be taken by supporting the affected underdeveloped countries by financial, industrial, and environmentally cleansing means. 56% of respondents to a 2022 climate survey support a carbon budget system to limit the most climate-damaging consumption (62% of those under 30).


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 Renewable energy (also called green energy) is energy made from renewable resource, renewable natural resources that are replenished on a human lifetime, human timescale. The most widely used renewable energy types are solar energy, wind pow ...
and
recycling Recycling is the process of converting waste materials into new materials and objects. This concept often includes the recovery of energy from waste materials. The recyclability of a material depends on its ability to reacquire the propert ...
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 Anti-consumerism is a sociopolitical ideology. It has been described as "''intentionally'' and ''meaningfully'' excluding or cutting goods from one's consumption routine or reusing once-acquired goods with the goal of avoiding consumption". The ...
, freeganism, green economics,
ecological economics 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 economy, economies and natural ec ...
,
degrowth Degrowth is an Academic research, academic and social Social movement, movement critical of the concept of economic growth, growth in Real gross domestic product, gross domestic product as a measure of Human development (economics), human and econ ...
,
frugality Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent, or economical in the consumption of resources such as food, time or money, and avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance. In behavioral science, frugality has been defined as ...
, downshifting,
simple living Simple living refers to practices that promote simplicity in one's lifestyle. Common practices of simple living include reducing the number of possessions one owns, depending less on technology and services, and spending less money. In addition t ...
,
minimalism In visual arts, music, and other media, minimalism is an art movement that began in the post-war era in western art. The movement is often interpreted as a reaction to abstract expressionism and modernism; it anticipated contemporary post-mi ...
, the
slow movement Slow movement may refer to: *Slow movement (music) A slow movement is a form in a multi-Movement (music), movement musical piece. Generally, the second movement of a piece will be written as a slow movement, although composers occasionally write ...
, and thrifting. Many consider the final target of the movements as arriving to a
steady-state economy 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 economy, national eco ...
in which the rate of consumption is optimal for health and environment. Recent grassroots movements have been coming up with creative ways to decrease the number of goods we consume.
The Freecycle Network The Freecycle Network (TFN) is a private, nonprofit organization registered in Arizona, US and is a charity in the United Kingdom. TFN coordinates a worldwide network of "gifting" groups to divert reusable goods from landfills. The network provid ...
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. Other researchers and movements such as the Zeitgeist Movement suggest a new socioeconomic model which, through a structural increase of
efficiency Efficiency is the often measurable ability to avoid making mistakes or wasting materials, energy, efforts, money, and time while performing a task. In a more general sense, it is the ability to do things well, successfully, and without waste. ...
, collaboration and locality in production as well as effective
sharing Sharing is the joint use of a resource or space. It is also the process of dividing and distributing. In its narrow sense, it refers to joint or alternating use of inherently finite goods, such as a common pasture or a shared residence. Still ...
, increased
modularity Modularity is the degree to which a system's components may be separated and recombined, often with the benefit of flexibility and variety in use. The concept of modularity is used primarily to reduce complexity by breaking a system into varying ...
, sustainability and optimal design of products, are expected to reduce resource-consumption. Solutions offered include consumers using market forces to influence businesses towards more sustainable manufacturing and products. 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. Women's empowerment in these countries will also result in smaller families. Reducing resource consumption requires a fundamental shift away from selfish, consumer-oriented values towards pro-social values that motivate people to work towards limiting consumption in order to achieve environmental sustainability and promote the development and acceptance of economic and social policies aimed at curbing consumption levels. Mindful consumption encourages individuals to moderate excessive acquisition and repetitive consumption by aligning their behavior with broader social and environmental goals. Emphasizing socially relevant benefits can help highlight the sustainable purpose of these services, thereby curbing overconsumption.


See also

* Artificial demand *
Collaborative consumption Collaborative consumption is the set of those resource circulation systems in which consumers both "obtain" and "provide", temporarily or permanently, valuable resources or service (economics), services through direct interaction with other con ...
*
Conspicuous consumption In sociology and in economics, the term conspicuous consumption describes and explains the consumer practice of buying and using goods of a higher quality, price, or in greater quantity than practical. In 1899, the sociologist Thorstein Veblen c ...
*
Consumption (economics) Consumption refers to the use of resources to fulfill present needs and desires. It is seen in contrast to investing, which is spending for acquisition of ''future'' income. Consumption is a major concept in economics and is also studied in man ...
*
Criticism of capitalism Criticism of capitalism typically ranges from expressing disagreement with particular aspects or outcomes of capitalism to rejecting the principles of the capitalist system in its entirety. Criticism comes from various political and philosophic ...
*
Degrowth Degrowth is an Academic research, academic and social Social movement, movement critical of the concept of economic growth, growth in Real gross domestic product, gross domestic product as a measure of Human development (economics), human and econ ...
* Effects of the car on societies *
Energy crisis An energy crisis or energy shortage is any significant Bottleneck (production), bottleneck in the supply of energy resources to an economy. In literature, it often refers to one of the energy sources used at a certain time and place, in particu ...
*
Environmental studies Environmental studies (EVS or EVST) is a multidisciplinary academic field which systematically studies human behavior, human interaction with the Natural environment, environment. Environmental studies connects principles from the physical sci ...
*
Externality In economics, an externality is an Indirect costs, indirect cost (external cost) or indirect benefit (external benefit) to an uninvolved third party that arises as an effect of another party's (or parties') activity. Externalities can be conside ...
* ''
The Limits to Growth ''The Limits to Growth'' (''LTG'') is a 1972 report that discussed the possibility of exponential Economic growth, economic and population growth with finite supply of resources, studied by computer simulation. The study used the World3 computer ...
'' *
Mottainai is a Japanese phrase conveying a sense of regret over waste, or to state that one does not deserve something because it is too good. The term can be translated to English as "What a waste!" or the old saying, "Waste not, want not." Japanese e ...
*
Overexploitation Overexploitation, also called overharvesting or ecological overshoot, refers to harvesting a renewable resource to the point of diminishing returns. Continued overexploitation can lead to the destruction of the resource, as it will be unable to ...
*
Overshoot (population) In environmental science, a population "overshoots" its local carrying capacity — the capacity of the biome to feed and sustain that population — when that population has not only begun to outstrip its food supply in excess of regeneration, b ...
* Peak copper *
Peak oil Peak oil is the point when global oil production reaches its maximum rate, after which it will begin to decline irreversibly. The main concern is that global transportation relies heavily on gasoline and diesel. Adoption of electric vehicles ...
* ''
Planet of the Humans ''Planet of the Humans'' is a 2019 American natural environment, environmental documentary film written, directed, and produced by Jeff Gibbs. The film was executively produced by Michael Moore. Moore released it on YouTube for free viewing on Ap ...
'' (film) * Preorder economy * Santosha (renunciation of the need to acquire) *
Steady-state economy 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 economy, national eco ...
* Surplus economics * '' Surplus: Terrorized into Being Consumers'' (film) * World Scientists' Warning to Humanity


References


Further reading

* * *
Fifty Possible Ways to Challenge Over-Commercialism
by Albert J. Fritsch, SJ, PhD
Why people hate fat Americans
by Daniel Ben-Ami


External links


Mother Pelican
A journal of sustainability
Optimum Population Trust


* ttps://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_for_nations/ Footprint For Nations*
The Story of Stuff
'' (video)
Energy statistics-Oil Consumption by Country

World Energy Use Graph

Global GDP by Country


{{Fast culture Consumerism Waste minimisation Peak oil Population ecology World population Global issues Environmental controversies Environmental social science concepts