Overpopulation and Overconsumption: Where Should We Focus? (Revised)
- Michael G. Hanauer
- August 24, 2013
- Forum Papers
- Forum Paper
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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.
Mike Hanauer has been an environmental activist for over thirty years. He has held a number of leadership positions, made numerous presentations and authored many articles, blogs and comments about the fragility of our communities, nation and our planet and its link to our escape from sustainability caused largely by growing overpopulation.
Mike’s passion began some 35 years ago while on a bicycle when he realized that blaming all the new pollution, traffic, housing, sprawl and waste problems on developers was largely misdirected. He saw that the problem, and the solution, was much simpler – we must reign in and ultimately reverse our culture of eternal growth.
Mike has served on the National Board of Zero Population Growth (ZPG, now Population Connection), served as Board Chair of GrowthBusters.org, and is a speaker for the Center for the Advancement of the Steady State Economy (CASSE, https://steadystate.org/). At the local level, he has served as co-chair of the New England Coalition for Sustainable Population, as chair of ZPG of Greater Boston and as the coordinator of a local climate action organization.
Mike may be best known for his belief that authentic sustainability should be a major goal and activity of environment related organizations and that a history of ignoring the impacts of corporate control and population growth has prevented meaningful progress on all the other issues. He likes to call restoration of democracy and coming to grips with the fallacy of eternal growth the two overarching issues that hinder success in limiting carbon emissions, creating a safe and humane food supply, dealing with trash, traffic, energy, ocean pollution, affordable housing and pretty much all else.
He has authored a number of articles on the relationships between population growth, consumption and environment including “OverPopulation or OverConsumption: Where should we focus” and “The True Environmental Disaster – The Silence on Our Growing Overpopulation” published by Negative Population Growth, as well as “Sustainable Population: A Necessary Element in Achieving the Sustainable Good Life in the U.S. and Beyond” for World Population Balance. In addition, he has led numerous population and environmental workshops in schools, colleges, churches and civic organizations. He has also investigated and documented the goals, operations and funding sources of a well-known conservative think tank. In addition, he frequently comments on blogs in an attempt to bring the overpopulation and authentic sustainability issues front and center.
Mike Hanauer is well known for his position that United States overpopulation is a major problem on a global, national and local scale. Currently he is also up to his eyeballs in growth and democracy issues, believing that the lack of visibility and action on overarching issues greatly hinders any success in dealing with the hundreds of symptoms.