Do Americans consume more than needed?

Question

Do Americans consume more than needed?

Answer 1

The answer to your question is probably. Americans are the world's consumers, but it is that very lifestyle which helps support large parts of the global economy. So be careful what you wish for. Americans could consume less, but when and if we do, people somewhere will suffer as a result. This is not presented as an excuse, it is merely a fact.

Answer 2

More of what?

No! Our government keeps sending billions of our hard earned tax dollar$ a day to foreign countries.

There are so many poor and middle class people right here in the USA who are barely getting by.

Maybe THEY could use some of that "excess."

Answer 3

Absolutely!

Answer 4

Look at the obesity in America. Nations are starving yet we spend billions on diet products. If everyone ate their serving size and donated their extra pounds to people that really need it their wouldn't be a problem.

Answer 5

h**l yes is it not physically not noticable.

Answer 6

OOOH Yeah,we  greedy Americans.

Answer 7

YES; American's consume more natural resources and private personal goods than any other people in the world.  Here are some statistics to back my answer.  The links below show Americans stack up against the rest of the world. It's amazing the standard of living we enjoy/take for granted.  

Americans constitute 5% of the world's population but consume 24% of the world's energy.

On average, one American consumes as much energy as

2 Japanese

6 Mexicans

13 Chinese

31 Indians

128 Bangladeshis

307 Tanzanians

370 Ethiopians

The population is projected to increase by nearly 130 million people - the equivalent of adding another four states the size of California - by the year 2050.

Americans eat 815 billion calories of food each day - that's roughly 200 billion more than needed - enough to feed 80 million people.

Americans throw out 200,000 tons of edible food daily, enough to feed 3 third world countries.

The average American generates 52 tons of garbage by age 75.

The average individual daily consumption of water is 159 gallons, while more than half the world's population lives on 25 gallons.

Fifty percent of the wetlands, 90% of the northwestern old-growth forests, and 99% of the tall-grass prairie have been destroyed in the last 200 years.

Eighty percent of the corn grown and 95% of the oats are fed to livestock.

Fifty-six percent of available farmland is used for beef production.

Every day an estimated nine square miles of rural land are lost to development.

There are more shopping malls than high schools; thus the american retail industry could provide enought funding to build 5 schools in every country on the planet.

Answer 8

Some do and some don't. It varies from person to person.  Some actually consume less than needed.

Answer 9

Absolutely. 1000%

Answer 10

The western world in general consumes more than it needs - not just Americans

Answer 11

h**l yes!

Ummm... err... nah....  Ya think?

LOL..

Cheers.

Answer 12

No we consume exactly what we need and waste the rest.

Answer 13

Everything is bigger in America and not in a good way

Answer 14

I guess that all depends on your definition of "need." To a lot of us we need everything we have. Does that mean we couldn't live without it, no but it makes our life easier. Its true we consume more than almost every other nation but so what.

Answer 15

YES.  YES. YES. YES.

Answer 16

That's an obvious question. They either throw it out, or get really, really fat.

Answer 17

Yes. have you seen how much they put on your plate at restaurants. Its insane. No wonder America has an obesity problem.

Answer 18

yes and we waste even more

Answer 19

yes we do... every possible resource you can think of....  except maybe whaling.... leave that to Norway and Japan

Answer 20

Considering that 68% of americans are overweight, I would have to say either we consume more than needed or we don't exercise or some combination of the two.

Answer 21

Sorry, I would have responded to your question more quickly, but I was transferring files between my other two computers, shopping online for a replacement for one of my 3 TVs and reheating the Starbucks I bought this morning while I was gassing up my SUV.

Of course we (Americans) consume more than needed!  That's our signature move!  We should trademark it or something.

So...yes, we should consume less...smaller, more efficient homes and cars, more modest diets, fewer electric-powered gadgets, etc.  But that same consumerism is also the backbone of our economy, so we need to be very thoughtful in how we scale back our consumption.  If we aren't buying it, than we lose the jobs of the people who are making it, and everyone's standard of living suffers.  No easy answers here.

I think we can move a long way toward reducing our strain on natural resources and the environment by recycling more stuff and by buying more locally, thus reducing the impact of transporting goods around the world.

Answer 22

Are you kidding?  We are "stuff" obsessed.

Answer 23

Does a  bear go p**p in the woods?  Does a duck swim in the water?  Do pigs go "Oink"?  Um - yes, we over-consume big time...

Answer 24

They consume what they want because they are an economically successful country. No wish to be unsympathetic but you had the same opportunity to make your country  economically successful

Answer 25

Yes like many Humans with Human Supremacist Attitudes. Once rejected attitudes reduce this for reason human narcissism seen as racism toward other life. Churches also consume more than required in terms of separate structures.So do Mosques and Synagogues.Were elements of all religion  taken to form another then there would be less consumption with one Universal Religion. Believe University came from a similar idea would be good for it to be in truth such.

Answer 26

An average American Consumes/uses 4 to 5 Kilo gram of paper every year. To manufacture the use of raw materials is 3.5/4 times so u can imagine the green house effect.

Answer 27

A lot more than needed, probably on the order of 20-50 times.

Answer 28

It depends on who the person is, but I think on average americans consume more because they are given more than they should eat for less or the same amount of money.

Answer 29

Yes we do! Why?

Read my lips: AMER I CAN

Got it? Do I need to spell it out again?

Answer 30

That's why the rest of the world is jealous of us. We have a higher standard of living than they do. Take a look at the world around you. I'm sure you don't need an oven to survive, but you have one. You don't need a car to survive but you have one.

Answer 31

I'm sure some do. But I know that not everybody does. And I'm also pretty sure that's not just something that's "American". We're probably not all that much different from others. There are people all over who consume more than they need.