No one knows for sure how we got to the point we are at today "drilling a hole in the plate you eat from"; literal translation from a saying in Hindi which refers to something similar to axing the branch you are sitting on..

We are consuming endlessly.

Everyone wants more

And who is fueling the desire? Companies whose targets are to increase the consumption of XXX by YYY percent every quarter

Making profit is good, but when your soul aim is only profit, then world is definitely a screwed place, for then you want to increase consumption of stuff which you sell, even though people who are buying, are better off consuming the free stuff, think soft drink over water, over the counter medicine over home remedies, organic methods of farming over GM and pesticide loaded agriculture, consuming a dress or a furniture till it is usable, vis a vis trashing them every time there is a new fashion..

They convince us

if we wanted we could have everything under the sun

, of course it is not possible for we have only limited resources, but they do not want you to know it , since then you will be motivated to consume less, or to free yourself from the cycle of working endlessly for them...

Food

We killed or scavenged our own animals and we ate them only 20% of the time. Today the ratio is reversed and the meat industry contributes as much as between 14 and 22% of the green house emmisions. Scientific American

Transport

We moved from using our legs to move, to using animals, and finally to use fossil fuels for transporting ourselves. At one point the fossil fuels became expensive but mysteriously became cheap even though the supply was constant, only to start increasing again after they could no longer control it. Today they convince us that we can still keep living the same way by coming up with

bio fuels

just because it is renewable. The Natural Conservancy and the author of the second study, said that the destruction of grassland, rainforests, peatlands or savannas in countries like Brazil and the U.S.

released 17-420 times more carbon dioxide emissions than the fuels they replace

. Tree Hugger

Clothes

Before then, and also until the World War I, most clothing was repaired, mended, or tailored to fit other family members, or recycled within the home as rags or quilts. Today fast fashion provides the marketplace with affordable apparel. Fueling the demand are fashion magazines that help create the desire for new “must-haves” for each season .

Yet fast fashion leaves a pollution footprint, with each step of the clothing life cycle generating potential environmental and occupational hazards. For example, polyester, the most widely used manufactured fiber, is made from petroleum. With the rise in production in the fashion industry, demand for man-made fibers, especially polyester, has nearly doubled in the last 15 years, according to figures from the Technical Textile Markets. The manufacture of polyester and other synthetic fabrics is an energy-intensive process requiring large amounts of crude oil and releasing emissions including volatile organic compounds, particulate matter, and acid gases such as hydrogen chloride, all of which can cause or aggravate respiratory disease.

Issues of environmental health and safety do not apply only to the production of man-made fabrics. Cotton, one of the most popular and versatile fibers used in clothing manufacture, also has a significant environmental footprint.

This crop accounts for a quarter of all the pesticides used in the United States, the largest exporter of cotton in the world, according to the USDA. The U.S. cotton crop benefits from subsidies that keep prices low and production high. The high production of cotton at subsidized low prices is one of the first spokes in the wheel that drives the globalization of fashion. Environmental Health Perspective

Housing

Because of the large amount of the natural resources used to build , remodel, and live in our homes, buildings contribute approximately 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

Raw materials such as timber, minerals, and metals are harvested without regard for the health of the land left behind. Residential development takes the place of critical farmland or species’ habitat. Housing tracts are developed further and further from city centers, forcing residents to travel longer distances to reach stores or places of employment. Residents’ need for water reduces river flows and underground aquifer levels. Outgoing sewage must also be managed to protect water bodies that receive it.

New construction and remodeling without reuse and recycling contributes to large amounts of waste that load up landfills. Traditional products also waste resources like energy or water by requiring more to get the job done. The burning of fossil fuels, the main source of energy, contributes to air pollution and greenhouse gases. U.S. residents contribute to 20% of the country’s carbon dioxide pollution by powering and heating their homes. Average U.S. homes doubled in size over the last fifty years, which magnifies all of these impacts.

A traditional home is often an unhealthy place from unchecked indoor air pollutants such as carbon monoxide, radon, formaldehyde, mold, dust, and smoke. Products like carpet, paint, and furniture give off Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs) which are chemicals that float in the air. These air pollutants and chemicals are irritants for the human respiratory system,consume vast amounts of natural resources, and are major solid waste and water pollution generators - representing a critical area for multi-stakeholder action. Poorly built, low-cost housing is one of the worst offenders within the built sector with respect to environmental impact, with respect to energy efficiency, heavy distances, mandating need for fuel based transits.