Quad Dog said:
Not specifically from what I remember. I'd think the definition changes in different parts of the world at different parts of the year. So it is probably hard to nail down. Government will undoubtedly assign itself the job of defining over consumption for better or for worse.
I'd hope it can be more of mindset for humanity. Individuals and corporations should be mindful of how much stuff they waste. And that waste does have impacts and consequences, even if it on the other side of the world. Where can you cut back, where can you find alternatives?
I understand that you're relaying info and it's not yours to defend; but here are my questions/thoughts on the bolded portion.
Based on what? Why would the definition of overconsumption change based on location and timing within a year? If your hypothesis is that overconsumption of resources is the cause of climate change than overconsumption should be easy to define. It may be difficult to measure but the definition has to be clear. It is foundational to any argument you hope to make.
The broader point to be made is that overconsumption of resources is a rabbit hole of an argument (which is probably why the podcast didn't bother defining it). To use one of your observations as an example, you posit that renewables can replace all uses of carbon for energy and you wish the US had the foresight and guts to develop it. The problem here is, of course, that development of renewables will lead to overconsumption of other resources (or in some cases the same resources). The only hint as to the definition in what you posted is that overconsumption is measured by having used up the readily available resources and driving industry to develop new ways to extract the resource. We are rapidly approaching that point for rare earth metals required for electric car batteries.
In the end overconsumption really just means that scarcity makes things too expensive which in turn drives innovation to create alternate solutions. Governments artificially driving costs through regulation and taxes is a net evil for the poor of the world.
