Report: 'Over-Consumption' Threatening Earth

[marmar]

Published on Tuesday, May 15, 2012 by Common Dreams

Report: 'Over-Consumption' Threatening Earth
If rampant misuse of resources continues, even two planets would not sustain us

- Common Dreams staff


Humans are using 50 percent more resources than the Earth can provide, and unless fundamental changes are made in the way we produce energy, food, and if we cannot curb our consumption of other natural resources that number will continue to skyrocket, according to a new report. Released today by the the World Wildlife Fund, The Living Planet Report, warns that if humans cannot shift their behavior by 2030, even two planets will not be enough to support modern society.

High income nations -- which translates into high levels of consumption -- are doing the most damage to the planet per capita. The report names Qatar as the country with the largest ecological footprint, followed by its Gulf Arab neighbours Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates. Denmark and the United States made up the remaining top five, calculated by comparing the renewable resources consumed against the earth's regenerative capacity.

Though the WWF's survey follows many others as it paints a grim scenario of the cumulative pressure humankind is putting on the planet, and the consequent decline in the health of the world's forests, rivers and oceans, it also makes note of the many available solutions.

"We do have a choice," write Jim Leape, WWF International's director general. "We can create a prosperous future that pro- vides food, water and energy for the 9 or perhaps 10 billion people who will be sharing the planet in 2050." ..................(more)

The complete piece is at: http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2012/05/15

[xchrom]

1. du rec. nt

[GoCubsGo]

2. They are just now figuring that out? n/t

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

3. Really!

the hippies and yippies and the rest of us were saying this in the 60's!

[cali]

4. People were saying that long before the 1960s

[RC]

5. My words exactly.

I had this figured out almost 30 years ago. This planet cannot sustain our shear numbers for any real length of time. When the oil runs out, Nature will reclaim her own.
Wind and Solar, being the wrong type of energy, cannot sustain the growing and transportation of our food supply. At least for as many of us as there are now. Not even in this country.

[muriel_volestrangler]

7. No; this is just their latest report on it (nt)

[KurtNYC]

8. Unfortunately, there is no "they"

No person or group has the power to stop it. We're gonna bake.

[CrispyQ]

14. That was both the funniest & saddest post!

But I agree completely!

[Gregorian]

6. They miss the target. Almost no one can see the real cause. Consumption comes from...

Humans.

We were fine with 1 billion people. The planet could keep up. But then we grew. And grew. And in combination with what we were consuming, the planet couldn't keep up.

The problem is population. Without population consumption would never be a topic of discussion.

[KurtNYC]

9. Certain populations have impact which is disproportional to their size.

6 billion people who don't drive cars, import things, dispose of plastic goods daily, etc. are not having the impact that the rest of us have.

If the world was a giant kiddie pool, the yellow clouds would be floating very incriminatingly near a few of the pool users.

[BlancheSplanchnik]

11. Thank you!!!! I was just going to comment that the article overlooks the crux

of the matter.


Why the hell is CONSCIOUS REPRODUCTION such a taboo subject????????


apologists and naysayers claim that it's "the other countries" fault, but that is immaterial. We are so interconnected, everyone on the planet demands RESOURCES. It's individual survival; but in the aggregate, we end up destroying that very earth that allows survival.

[kestrel91316]

10. RWers don't care, of course. They work very hard to make sure

that ONLY the deserving upper tier gets any resources, and all the rest just do without, because they are obviously unworthy slackers.

[hifiguy]

12. The mass human die-off will eventually come.

The only question is when. Perhaps those who preserve the species will be a bit wiser and less materialistic than past generations.

[slackmaster]

13. If two planets won't be enough, the only solution is to go for THREE

Starting with Canada.

[mick063]

15. An unwinnable fight

Didn't you hear? The earth was ordained by God as man's domain. There is a reason the neo-liberals pursue an alliance with fundamentalist clergy.