The material revolution: How USA’s commodity appetite evolved from 1900 to present
A new study documents the dramatic change in America’s material diet from 1900 to 2020 – ongoing shifts in US commodity consumption patterns with profound environmental, economic, and geopolitical implications. The paper details consumption of 100 key commodities used to build cities, power cars, produce everyday products, and connect people, charting transformative changes since the start of the 20th century in both absolute commodity demand (ABS) and demand compared to economic activity, called intensity of use (IOU).
