User:Gaeanautes/Exceeding limits

Present background: Exceeding global limits to growth

The widening interest in the concept of a steady-state economy has a background in the world's mounting ecological problems: Since the 1990s, measurements have provided evidence that the volume of the world economy far exceeds critical global limits to economic growth already. According to the ecological footprint measure, the carrying capacity of Earth — that is, Earth's long-term capacity to sustain human populations and consumption levels — was exceeded by some twenty percent in 1990.^[1]: 18 By 2015, this figure had increased to some sixty percent.^[2] In effect, mankind is now confronted with the vicious dynamics of planetary overshoot-and-collapse. More specifically, the following issues have long been of general concern worldwide:

Human overpopulation
World population is expected to reach 9.3 billion by 2050, and continue growing thereafter. This massive number of people is already resulting in human overpopulation, putting excessive strain on all kinds of natural resources and wildlife habitats everywhere, increasing pollution levels and deteriorating human living conditions. Uncontrolled urbanisation is forcing people to live in congested shanty towns, and large cities swell to become megacities with slum areas ripe with high crime rates. Overpopulation may even lead to social conflict and violence, when too many people (especially young males) end up competing for too few employment opportunities in sluggish economies.

Air pollution and global warming
Air pollution emanating from motor vehicles and industrial plants is

Depletion of non-renewable minerals
Non-renewable

Endangered wildlife and loss of biodiversity
The destructive impact of human activity on wildlife habitats worldwide is accelerating the extinction of rare species, thereby substantially reducing Earth's biodiversity of plants and animals. The accumulating pollution of plastic debris in the oceans leads to entanglement, suffocation and ingestion of aquatic life. The acidification of the oceans due to concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is resulting in coral bleaching and impedes oceanic calcifying organisms. Arctic sea ice decline caused by global warming is endangering the polar bear.

These mounting concerns have prompted an increasing number of philosophers, economists — besides Herman Daly — and natural scientists to point to obvious global limits to economic growth, and to question — or even oppose — the prevailing political orthodoxy of persistently pursuing growth.^{[3] [4] [5] [6] [7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13] [14] [15] [16] [17] [18]}

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