Globalizing Consumption, American Style…
A few weeks ago, I read an article in BusinessWeek on the 300 millionth baby born in the USA and the implications of US’ large (and growing) population and its enormous consumption of resources for the rest of the world.
As Victoria Markham wrote in that article, “My daughter and I watched the U.S. Census Bureau Population Clock tick its way, second by second, to the magical 300 million mark…At the historic moment (my daughter) asked: “Why does that matter?”
The answer may be more disturbing than she–or any of us–knows, because the U.S. is a world leader not only in gross domestic product, per-capita income, innovative technologies, and many health and educational standards, but also in a more dubious measure: our environmental footprint.”
“The U.S. population has the largest per capita environmental imprint in the world, with greater impact on many of the planet’s resources and ecosystems than any other nation on earth. Indeed, while we represent just 1/20th of the global population, we consume disproportionately higher amounts–at least one-fourth–of practically every natural resource (in the world).”
