Despite progress, the world’s material footprint rose by 70% between 2007 and 2017. If this rate of consumption continues, we will need the equivalent of almost three planets to provide the natural resources needed. In order to build a better world, we have to learn how to do more and better with less.
Data can help shape our consumption and production levels. With accurate population data, better birth and death rate numbers, and reliable transportation statistics, we can predict food and water needs. By 2050, the world population is projected to reach 9.8 billion, and the need for better consumption and production practices will be even more critical.
The situation the Earth is in today has been created by unmindful production and unmindful consumption. We consume to forget our worries and our anxieties. Tranquilising ourselves with over-consumption is not the way.
-Thich Nhat Hanh, Vietnamese monk