The New Consumers: The Influence Of Affluence On The Environment

217 Pages·2004·1.34 MB·English

by  Norman Myers

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The New Consumers

The New Consumers
The Influence of Affluence on the Environment
Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent
island press
Washington • Covelo • London
Copyright © 2004 Norman Myers
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright
Conventions. No part ofthis book may be reproduced in any form or
by any means without permission in writing from the publisher: Island
Press, 1718 Connecticut Ave., Suite 300, NW, Washington, DC 20009.
island pressis a trademark ofThe Center for Resource Economics.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication data.
Myers, Norman.
The New Consumers : the influence ofaffluence
on the environment / Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 1-55963-997-0 (cloth : alk. paper)
1. Economic development—Environmental aspects.
2. Consumption (Economics)—Environmental aspects.
3. Sustainable development. 4. Environmental responsibility.
I. Kent, Jennifer. II. Title.
HD75.6.M48 2004
333.71'3—dc22
2004004202
British Cataloguing-in-Publication data available.
Printed on recycled, acid-free paper
Design by David Bullen
Manufactured in the United States ofAmerica
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
To those many colleagues who inspired the authors along their way,
and to all those who would like to keep on consuming indefinitely
rather than over-consuming for a short while.

Contents
List of Tables and Figures xi
Preface xiii
I: Who Are the New Consumers? 3
II: Cars: Driving Us Backwards 25
III: Meat: Juicy Steaks and Hidden Costs 38
IV: Further Resource Linkages: Household Electricity,
Eco-Footprints, and Human Numbers 51
V: China: A Giant Awake and Roaring 66
VI: India: The Second “Biggie” 82
VII: The Big Picture of 20 Countries 93
VIII: Sustainable Consumption: Where Do We Find It? 120
IX: Sustainable Consumption: How to Get from
Here to There 132
Appendix A: GNI and Its Shortcomings 147
Appendix B: Four Outlier Countries 149
Notes 151
Index 191