The total amount of natural resources is limited. Non-renewable raw materials such as metals and oil are being used up. Other resources such as soils, water, or the atmosphere are overused. The amount of resource consumption due to our consumption of goods and services is enormous, and even today, it is far greater than what the Earth can sustain on a permanent basis. At present, humanity is using up the amount of resources that
should actually last for a whole year within eight months.
Our wasteful use of resources is the reason why minerals and metals, water and soils have become scarce. And it is the main cause of climate change and the loss of biodiversity. Much larger amounts of resources and CO2 emissions are embedded in most products than are apparent at first glance. This brochure uses the examples of mobile phones, beef, T-shirts, and private transport to show how much land, water, materials, and atmosphere are used, and how resource consumption can be reduced.
