The system is broken
Our consumer society runs on a system that can’t last.
Right now there are 8.32 billion people on planet Earth. We passed 8 billion in 2022, and the UN expects us to reach 9 billion around 2037 and to peak near 10.3 billion in the 2080s.
That many people put enormous pressure on the planet’s resources, and it calls for radical change. We already use about 1.7 Earths: the planet needs around 20 months to regrow what we take from it in 12. The difference is borrowed from the future, as shrinking forests, emptier seas and carbon piling up in the air.
The World Counts gives you an overview of the critical challenges we face. Awareness is the first step towards change!
We also want to show the people and companies already leading the way, and the changes that are working. You’ll find them in Hope.
Awareness is needed
The World Counts was created to raise awareness of the world’s most important challenges, and to inspire action so that the worst trends can be turned around. We firmly believe that all of us can make a positive difference.
Our consumer society is not sustainable. In essence, products are made from natural resources and eventually turned into waste. With a limited amount of natural resources, it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out that we can’t run such a system forever.
The World Counts shows these trends with live counters. Each one starts from the latest measured figure and runs at the speed the real thing is changing, so you can watch it happen. They are grouped in:
- Earth: the climate, the air and the land
- Life: wildlife, the oceans and extinction
- Humanity: population, poverty, health and education
- Footprint: the energy, food, water and things behind everyday life
- Hope: what is going right
Disturbing things are happening in each of these areas. We want to show some of them, and how closely they are tied to what we consume. The Footprint section shows how the products and companies you choose have real consequences in the world.
The numbers are there to make you stop and ask: what on earth are we doing? Sooner or later that question turns into a harder one: what am I doing? It reaches further than what we buy. It is about how we live, and what we really need.
Our vision: change through awareness
Our vision is to create change through awareness and consumer empowerment.
As a consumer you have power. You use it every day through the products and services you choose to buy.
Companies make what consumers demand. So if more people start asking for, and buying, products that are made responsibly, it has real effects. In short, you vote with your money, and the strongest vote is often the purchase you don’t make. Support green companies is about how to vote well.
To make that possible you need information. A lot of it is out there, but it isn’t always easy to find, or to trust. We are working to change this, which is why every page on the site is being researched again to a stricter standard of sourcing. The data explains how.
