Consumption continues to climb despite efforts to promote simpler lifestyles by those in affluent countries. And much of it can be attributed to demand for products and services that are above those needed for a secure life. Indeed, KCTS/Seattle and Oregon Public Broadcasting, the producers of a recent television program on the topic, observed that North Americans have become so addicted to the material world that they are plagued with "an epidemic of stress, overwork, waste and indebtedness caused by dogged pursuit of the American Dream," an affliction they aptly named "affluenza." The film noted that increased consumption is not making Americans happier. Even so, the desire for the average American's materially rich lifestyle is spreading to a growing middle class in other parts of the world. They want the same products and conveniences as people in the world's highest-income countries.

But, how can these new consumers engage in increased consumption when ecosystems are already overwhelmed by current consumption? Indicators show that the environment cannot continue to support nor absorb and convert the mountains of waste produced by high-consumption lifestyles. Continued growth is not possible; resources are not available in the amounts needed. But the alternative—no growth or economic contraction—is equally unpalatable. People and governments alike equate it with recession and unemployment—something to be avoided. And, even if overall consumption is reduced in wealthy countries it does not automatically mean there will be more for the millions living in poverty. Stark statistics from the United Nations Development Programme's (UNDP) 1998 Human Development Report on consumption illustrate the disparities. "Globally, the 20% of the world's people in the highest-income countries account for 86% of total private consumption expenditures—the poorest 20% a minuscule 1.3%." It is no longer a question of high-income vs. low-income countries, either. Many poor also live in North America and Europe—more than 100 million according to the UNDP—and many lower-income countries have their share of wealthy and middle-class citizens.

Solutions must lie outside the economic growth patterns established by the industrialized economies of North America and Europe. Indeed, the UNDP is advocating growth that is pro-environment and pro-poor. Other organizations such as the Wuppertal Institute are promoting more efficient use of resources. Wuppertal maintains that per capita material flows in OECD countries could be reduced by a factor of four (Factor 4) by increasing efficiency by doing more with less using our present technologies.

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In Depth
	United Nations development Programme. Human Development Report 1998: Consumption for Human Development. New York, NY: UNDP, 1998. von Weizsäcker, Ernst Ulrich, Amory B. Lovins and L. Hunter Lovins. Factor four: Doubling wealth—halving resource use. Earthscan, London, 1997. 224p.
Virtual Ideas
	PBS. Affluenza Home page

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