Just 90 companies caused two-thirds of man-made global warming emissions

[NickB79]

7. It is not a "small fraction"

There isn't a country on Earth, no matter it's economic status, that isn't part of the global clusterfuck that is climate change and resource depletion. Those in less developed nations that aren't directly buying the goods of these 90 companies are often working to provide the raw materials FOR those company's factories, either directly or indirectly.

The countries that aren't already up to their eyeballs in the consumer culture are striving to EMULATE the countries that already are. China and India are, for all intents and purposes, striving to emulate the consumption-based economy of the US. African and South American countries aren't far behind.

With regard to your second point, that's a cop-out. Consumers often have the choice of simply not buying what's offered, or choosing to spend a bit extra to buy a similar product made in a more sustainable fashion. The fact that most do not, or cannot, shows how deep in the shit we currently are. This was the basis for the Occupy Wallstreet movement (that pretty much crumbled as the apathetic sat on the sidelines). If GliderGuider were present in this thread, he'd probably say it represents an example of humans being biologically hardwired to only look at short-term problems, the future be damned. It also shows, IMO, how market-based approaches to tackling climate change are far too shallow in impact to prevent us from breaking the 2C line in the near future.