Renew

Overpopulation and Overconsumption: Where Should We Focus? (Revised)

Originally published in 1998, NPG has revised and republished Overpopulation and Overconsumption: Where Should We Focus? by Michael G. Hanauer.  This paper offers a strong argument for U.S. population reduction, which still rings true today.

Click here for a downloadable, printable PDF version.

Overpopulation and Overconsumption:
Where Should We Focus?
An NPG Forum Paper
by Michael G. Hanauer

We Have So Many Choices

There are many pieces to our environmental puzzle, which when assembled can ensure that our planet and everything on it have a joyful ride now and into the indefinite future. We call that sustainability, and this is our work, our goal and our passion. But that sustainability can and must be achieved without each of us manipulating all of the puzzle’s pieces. Each of us must decide which pieces to focus on – which ones we feel are overarching in their effect, which ones we as individuals and organizations can impact, and which are most overlooked. In science, there is a rule of thumb called the 20-80 rule which says that 20 percent of the underlying problems often cause 80 percent of the significant effects. To be successful in the longer term, an individual or organization needs to choose carefully.

Because the United States so severely aggravates so many of the world’s environmental problems, because of our responsibility to set an example for the world, and because this is my home, I believe that we should place a significant emphasis on our domestic problems (but certainly not entirely). All solutions require support and action at the local level, whether you consider local to be a nation, or an individual  community. “Think Globally, Act Locally” makes a lot of sense from any perspective.

Much of the environmental movement has chosen to pursue specific issues such as pollution, forests, global warming, species diversity or open space – perhaps because these are the problems we each see in our own backyards. To those with a more overarching view, consumption and population issues stand out because they are largely local and because they are causal, that is they occur at a community level and tend to underlie or exacerbate many individual problems. Both of these pieces are important to our ride toward sustainability. Where should we place our emphasis and our resources?

How Do We Choose From the Causal Two?

There are many widely read books with titles like Fifty Easy Ways to Save the Earth. Almost all of these books approach issues from the point of view of reducing (over)consumption. We often hear how the U.S. has 5 percent of the world’s population, yet consumes 25 percent of its resources. It’s also true that the developed world, with 23 percent of the population, uses about 66 percent of the Earth’s resources. Yes, it can sound like just a consumption problem, but the magnitude of this consumption actually makes population even more important to preserving our environment and quality of life!

In many environmental and population circles, the traditional thinking dictates that the problem in developing countries is overpopulation, while in the developed world the bulk of the problem is overconsumption. This oversimplification, that the U.S. has mainly a consumption problem, purveys easy, feel-good answers to many environmentally conscious individuals and organizations. Such feel good answers are dangerous because they lead to incomplete actions by masking the enduring effects of population growth. Let’s explore further…

Continue reading the full Forum paper by clicking here.

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