Brilliant Photos Capture the Impact of Overpopulation and Overconsumption

There are currently seven billion people on Earth and that number is set to spike to nine billion by 2050. Yes, that’s a whole lot of people, but you can’t really grasp just how many until you consider the sheer volume of resources needed to sustain all of us. Humankind currently use around one and a half Earth’s worth of land, water and energy resources, so figuring out how we are going to accommodate an additional two billion people has become one of our generation’s greatest challenges.

As with most modern dilemmas, the best way to find a solution starts with raising awareness. And what better way to grab people’s attention than showing them photos that illustrate the extreme extent of our overdevelopment, overpopulation, and general overexploitation crisis?

Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER), a newly published book from the Center of Deep Ecology, aims to do just this. Using photos from artists across the world, the book provides detailed insight into the breadth of the current problem and offers a solution in the form of consciousness which will inspire action.

This incredible book is available for free through the Global Population Speak Out Campaign. You can help raise awareness by sharing the book, photos and any information you’ve learned with others. Ready to get started?

Greenhouses cover the landscape in Almeria, Spain.

Yann Arthus Bertrand

An Albatross poisoned by plastic Pollution on Midway Atoll.

Chris Jordan

The Amazon Rainforest slashed, burned, and turned to rubble for cattle grazing.

Daniel Beltra

Livestock production completely swallows the landscape in Brazil.

Peter Beltra

A hillside slum in Port-au-Prince, Haiti.

Google Earth/2014 Digital Globe

Industrial forestry levels public lands in Willamette National Forest, Oregon.

Daniel Dancer

Reckless consumer culture sweeps the world.

Brett Cole

Wave of garbage in Java, Indonesia.

Zak Noyle

Urban sprawl in Mexico City chokes out all natural life.

Pablo Lopez Luz

Our never-ending thirst for oil. Kern River Oil Field, California.

Mark Gamba/Corbis

An aerial view of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig explosion in 2010. The local environment is still suffering the repercussions.

Daniel Beltra

Rampant deforestation on Vancouver Island, Canada.

Garth Lentz

Fields upon fields of agriculture crops have turned China’s countryside into a geometric maze.

Google Earth/2014 Digital Globe

All image source: Overdevelopment, Overpopulation, Overshoot (OVER)