A look at Ecological Footprints. The measure is expressed in hectares. In cases where that nation consumes beyond its capacity, the authors claim there is an overshoot or growth beyond that country's capacity.
Unsustainable growth leads to an eventual crash unless the trend is changed.
These figures classifying countries based on national consumption patterns and locally available resources is then compared to the globally available biologically productive space. The authors have determined this figure to be 1.7 hectares. The figure is based on average consumption given current technology. Canada does not score very well according to their criteria and neither do most industrialized nations. What becomes apparent is that consumption rather then population is the greatest determinant of our ecological footprint.