Overconsumption

Ecological footprint vs. carrying capacity of the earth, from Meadows, xv

Characteristics of overshoot: 1) growth, acceleration, rapid change 2) limit beyond which the system cannot safely go 3) delay in signals or mistake in perceptions so that signals that the limit has been crossed do not lead to immediate response Meadows, 1
GMOs and world hunger: people aren't going hungry because there's not enough food in the world, but because they can't afford to buy it. More high-cost food production does not help. Meadows, 66

Third world --> first world standards

China reaching first world living standards (at current first world consumption rates) would double the world's human environmental impact Diamond, 374
World's largest development projects (all expected to be severely damaging to the environment): Three Gorges Dam, South-to-North Water Diversion Project (China) Diamond, 368
China is a net importer of trash from other countries, and recycles very little. More than 2/3 of China's cities are surrounded by garbage Diamond, 366
China's industrial energy efficiency is half that of first world countries Diamond, 362
Transportation in China is explosively growing. # of motor vehicles increased 15x 1980-2001. Diamond, 362
China's number of households grew at 3.5%/year 1990-2005 Diamond, 361

[aggarwal]: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1040619013001917 "Aggarwal, Sonia and Harvey, Hal. 'Rethinking Energy Policy to Deliver a Clean Energy Future.' Energy Innovation, 2013."