There is enough in the world for everyone's need; there is not enough for everyone's greed. - Gandhi


Environmental Consequences
However, there is a price to pay for this uncontrolled consumption. Perhaps, we do not yet realize that everything we consume comes from the natural world - it is extracted, mined, farmed, grown, fished, cut down - and the resources on this planet are limited. As we continue to consume at an ever increasing rate for the illusion of a "comfortable" life, the planet suffers from this over-extraction of resources - forests, fish, soil, minerals, water... resulting in degraded and collapsing ecosystems, habitats and species. In addition, increased consumption creates increased pollution and waste and the very essentials for life - air, land and water get more and more polluted and toxic.

Social Consequences
Perhaps, we also do not realize that if we take up the lion’s share of the planet's resources, then others have less to live on. Currently, 80% of the world's resources are used by a minority of the world's population (17%). There is a flow of precious resources from the global South to the North. These resources are exploited and used for producing goods and services for the minority of the world's population instead of being used to provide the basic necessities of food, water, health, sanitation etc. for the rest of the world's population. Moreover, in order to fulfill the consumption "wants" of the rich minority, precious resources are often directed towards frivolous or luxury items further depriving the poor of the world.

The following table, from WorldWatch Institute, compares the expenditure on luxury items with funding needed to meet basic needs.



Perfumes $15 billion Universal literacy $5 billion