Is there evidence that conspicuous consumption may be levelling off?


Higher fuel prices look to be having an effect at saturating our driving habits.

We keep buying, buying, buying

The basic problem can be simply stated. The concept of sustainability is coming into our collective consciousness at a time where our consumption started to become unprecedented on national and global scales. This is best seen in the waveform below which shows the large ramp up in personal consumption from about 1997 to 2001 (the dot.com bubble).

This waveform has other important features:

More Recent Data may indicate saturation as well:

During the personal consumption explosion we see large increases in franchise outlets:

Good example of franchise expansion

And since we charge everything, we are on a scary trajectory as a nation - notice the huge change in slope in the year 2000 when anyone could get a loan for anything!

But now it looks like saturation is occurring here as well:




In addition, rising energy costs have been eating more and more of the consumer paycheck and this comes right after a time when energy costs were historically low! (late 90's).





Some Overall Consumption Patterns that are good proxies for world growth:


Bottled Water


Lithium Ion Batteries

Guess what this is - you all probably have one or more:

And technology replacements spur new production and new industry ramp up:


And of course, its not just the US

And some international companies have figured out these new markets exist:

In addition, we are currently in an increasingly discovered global food crises one that is not generated by war, natural disaster, and the like but rather by infrastructure limitations and market conditions that are more favorable for growing corn for fuel rather than corn for food. Since markets don't have an ethical dimension, this is likely a future problem unless business as usual changes.

Many Many Details Here





An Indicator:

Unstainable Trends:

And Then the Crash:

Welcome to the New World!