Consuming materials: The American way

• Published in: Technological forecasting & social change Vol. 53; no. 1; pp. 111 - 122
• Main Author: Wernick, Iddo K.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Elsevier Inc 01.09.1996
• Subjects: Consumerism; Consumption; Environmental Degradation; Natural Resources; United States of America
• ISSN: 0040-1625; 1873-5509
• DOI: 10.1016/0040-1625(96)00048-0

Sustaining the U.S. economy requires large inputs of materials, and their extraction, processing, and consumption affect the environment in many ways. In the United States, as in most industrialized countries, bulk materials consumption no longer runs in tanden with economic activity. Demand for raw materials in the richer countries has fallen well below the forecasts of decades ago, confounding predictions of dire shortage and reducing the projected income of countries that rely on mineral exports. Demographic shifts in the US and individual consumer preferences drive greater and more varied consumption. Saturated markets and technological advances offer promise for reduction. The success of large-scale materials recycling depends on the economics of secondary materials recovery and the suitability of secondary materials for reuse. Powerful social and demographic forces that draw more materials into the system will vie with technological innovations intended to limit inputs in shaping the future path of materials consumption in the United States.