The New Consumers: The Influence of Affluence on the Environment

While overconsumption by the developed world's roughly one billion inhabitants is an abiding problem, another one billion increasingly affluent "new consumers" in developing countries will place additional strains on the earth's resources, argue authors Norman Myers and Jennifer Kent in this important new book.

The New Consumers examines the environmental impacts of this increased consumption, with particular focus on two commodities — cars and meat — that stand to have the most far-reaching effects. It analyzes consumption patterns in a number of different countries, with special emphasis on China and India (whose surging economies, as well as their large populations, are likely to account for exceptional growth in humanity's ecological footprint), and surveys big-picture issues such as the globalization of economies, consumer goods, and lifestyles. Ultimately, according to the orman Myers and Jennifer Kent, the challenge will be for all of humanity to transition to sustainable levels of consumption, for it is unrealistic to expect "new" consumers not to aspire to be like the "old" ones. Cogent in its analysis, The New Consumers issues a timely warning of a major and developing environmental trend, and suggests valuable strategies for ameliorating its effects.

Who are the new consumers? — Cars : driving us backwards — Meat : juicy steaks and hidden costs — Further resource linkages : household electricity, eco-footprints, and human numbers — China : a giant awake and roaring — India : the second "biggie" — The big picture of 20 countries — Sustainable consumption : where do we find it? — Sustainable consumption : how to get from here to there — Appendix A: GNI and its shortcomings — Appendix B: Four outlier countries.