Can Sustainable Consumers and Producers Save the Planet?

Anthropogenic carbon emissions exemplify modern resource overexploitation. The consumption of 1.2 billion richer humans accounts for some 75% of total emissions. Instead of viewing these consumers as part of the problem, we should persuade them to contribute to the solution. Household consumption drives modern economies, but unsustainable consumption, production, and resource exploitation have led to multiple crises that threaten the future survival of humanity. Climate change is now considered the ultimate threat multiplier that will exacerbate the formidable problems of development we already face—such as poverty, hunger, illness, water and energy scarcities, and conflict. The world is facing economic, social, and environmental risks, best characterized by a “bubble” metaphor based on greed and false expectations, whereby a few enjoy immediate gains and the vast, unsuspecting majority will pay huge future costs. These threats may interact catastrophicallyunlesstheyareaddressedurgentlyandinan integrated fashion. Economic, Social, and Environmental Bubbles