Over-consumption
"...a situation where resource-use has outpaced the sustainable capacity of the ecosystem." - en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overconsumption
How early was this concept introduced?
Over-consumption is not a term easily found in the dictionary but when separated the prefix word over, according to the Merriam-Webster Dictionary, it is “…to exceed or surpass.” (Merriam-Webster Inc). The word consumption is defined as, “the utilization of economic goods in the satisfaction of wants or in the process of production resulting chiefly in their destruction, deterioration, or transformation.” (Merriam-Webster Inc). When these definitions are combined they create the definition for a phenomenon that is occurring worldwide. This phenomenon of over-consumption is take to take more than we need from our environment and surpass the sustainability of our natural resources. However new this topic might sound it can actually be described as early as Plato’s and Socrates’ lifetime.
Merriam-Webster Inc. Meriiam-Webster: An Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. n.d. 26 October 2012 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/over-consumption>.
—. Merriam-Webster: An Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. n.d. 26 October 2012 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumption>.
—. Merriam-Webster: An Encyclopaedia Britannica Company. n.d. 26 October 2012 <http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/consumption>.