World Environmental Facts

• Consumers

• loading
• people in the consumer class
• globally, right now
• Share |

Challenges ahead

If everyone on earth lived like the average American we would need 4.6 planets to support us. 2.4 for Japanese and about 2.3 for Europeans. And the number of people in the consumer class is growing…

More and more people are consuming the planet

Based on population projections alone, the global consumer class will grow to at least 2 billion by 2015. And it could be many more…

Life cycle thinking

To improve our impact, we need to pay close attention to the full lifecycle of products. Not just the characteristics of the product itself but also the materials and production methods used to manufacture the product and the kinds and types of wastes generated in the process.

We are all part of what is going on around the world

As globalization accelerates, we are increasingly relying on natural resources and ecosystem services all around the world to support our patterns of consumption. We are therefore part of a wide range of global challenges. Check out the rest of amiiko for an overview of some of these challenges.

1. <

2. What does it mean (1 of 4)

3. >
• Show sources

• Sources

• Consumers

  A growing consumer class is very positive in the sense that it reflects that more people can enjoy the benefits of the consumer society. But it also creates additional pressure on natural resources. The Worldwatch Institute predicts that by 2015 there will be 2 billion people in the consumer class. The estimate is a rough estimate based on population growth alone and could be higher.
  • Worldwatch Institute report: State of the World 2004, p7

• 1. Challenges ahead

     • Global Footprint Network - footprint for nations

  2. More and more people are consuming the planet

     • Worldwatch Institute report: State of the World 2004, p7
     • It is of course very positive that more people climb out of poverty and get an opportunity to improve their standard of living ! We just have to make sure that we make the necessary adjustments to our consumer society.

  3. Life cycle thinking

     • Worldwatch Institute report: State of the World 2004

  4. We are all part of what is going on around the world

     • WWF report: For a living planet 2008

Content

• ALL FACTS
• Number of planet Earths we need
• Resources extracted from Earth
• Total waste dumped
• Fair trade products sold
• World population
• Consumers

• OK, I get it. Bad things are going on
• Now what?