Overpopulation of Overconsumption

I recently completed my ecological footprint online at http://myfootprint.org/en/. If everyone in the world were to live the way I currently live my lifestyle (generally 4-5 flights per year, drive my car everywhere I go alone, do not use low flow toilets or water faucets, etc.) we would need 4.57 Earths. To me this indicates that I am currently living a life style of over consumption in certain aspects.

The below figure shows that compared to the country average, my footprint in global acres by consumption for carbon, and housing is below the country average. I am, however, about par with the country average for food footprint and goods and services footprint.

The website provides some recommendations to reduce my footprint. While living in Victoria, I feel that I could reduce my food footprint by eating more local, organic, and in season foods, shop at local farmers markets, and choose foods with less packaging. I could also reduce my carbon footprint by not driving to school, and riding my bike instead. As far as reducing my goods and services footprint, there currently is not alot that I can do. In our house, we already recycle all of our paper, plastic, aluminum and glass. I don’t have any waste electronics, as I tend to use them until they die. Composting is currently not an option, as it would have to be a household decision, which would not happen. As far as purchasing recycled products, at this stage in my life, I am not purchasing many goods, other than food.

The world’s populations is rapidly growing in developing regions of the world, showing that there is a chance for overpopulation. With regards to a sustainable world, there is a Population/Consumption Paradox: Population can only be controlled by increasing education (mainly for women) and affluence. However, both of these will increase individual consumption.

I feel that as part of education, we can educate the world about making smarter choices to decrease ones ecological footprint (as represented by my example). This in turn would possibly reduce the increase of individual consumption.

I don't think that it is an issue of overpopulation OR over consumption, but rather a combination of the two. The greater the population increase, the greater the level of consumption will be.