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US Cult of Greed Is Now a Global Environmental Threat From The Guardian The average American consumes more than his or her weight in products each day, fuelling a global culture of excess that is emerging as the biggest threat to the planet, according to a report published today. In its annual report, Worldwatch Institute says the cult of consumption and greed could wipe out any gains from government action on climate change or a shift to a clean energy economy. Erik Assadourian, the project director who led a team of 35behind the report, said: “Until we recognize that our environmental problems, from climate change to deforestation to species loss, are driven by unsustainable habits, we will not be able to solve the ecological crises that threaten to wash over civilization.” The world’s population is burning through the planet’s resources at a reckless rate, the US think tank said. In the last decade, consumption of goods and services rose 28%to 30.5%bn. The consumer culture is no longer a mostly American habit but is spreading across the planet. Over the last 50 years, excess has been adopted as a symbol of success in developing countries from Brazil to India, the report said. Such trends were not a natural consequence of economic growth, the report said, but the result of deliberate efforts by businesses to win over consumers. Products such as the hamburger-dismissed as an unwholesome food for the poor at the beginning of the 20th century---and bottled water are now commonplace. The average western family spends more on their pet than is spent by a human in Bangladesh. The report did note encouraging signs of a shift away from the high spend culture. It said school meals programmes marked greater efforts to encourage healthier eating habits among children. The younger generation was also more aware of their impact on the environment. There has to be a wholesale transformation of values and attitudes, the report