Overconsumption is defined as the excessive use of goods and services arising from a mistaken belief that the possession and use of an increasing number and variety of goods and services are the principal cultural aspiration and the surest perceived route to personal happiness, social status, and national success
Identifying whether an individual's consumption level is excessive would, therefore, require assessing whether his or her quest for material goods and services will truly lead to fulfillment and happiness. When discussing overconsumption from an environmental standpoint, the emphasis changes from the consumption of goods and services to the use of natural resources. Overconsumption of natural resources is portrayed as a major threat to the sustainability of the world's environmental systems. People are not only concerned with their needs for primary essentials, such as a piece of bread and a roof over their heads, but also for various facilities and luxuries. Providing humanity with these objects involves the exploitation of natural resources. In turn, the conventional sources of energy we use today cause pollution, so economic growth is almost inevitably associated with environmental damage. .
A factor of economic growth that affects the environment most of all is that in order to produce more goods and products at a faster rate, the construction of large industrial plants is required. These enterprises generate mass amounts of pollution in the form of liquid waste and gaseous fumes. Liquid waste is frequently dumped in fresh water bodies while gaseous fumes are released into the atmosphere. Liquid waste leads to the pollution of water and the damaging of aquatic ecosystems (Harden 365). Gaseous fumes pollute the atmosphere, which may cause negative, long-term health effects to nearby populations of animals or people. They also lead to the degradation of the ozone layer, which is one of the main reasons for the acceleration of global warming.