Does consumerism attribute to the carbon footprint?

Yes, in a very large way. Consumerism is the inclination of people to buy materialistic items. In doing so, their waste increases and thus their carbon footprint increases. The large materialistic culture of our society forces people to conform to pressure to buy many items in order to be viewed as wealthy to bolster their social class image.

I think consumerism plays a large role in carbon footprint. While I recognize how consumers may be at fault when it comes with dealing with the waste that comes from all of the materialistic items, I also see how a culture centered around consumerism influences big businesses and drastically increases their carbon footprints. If big corporations are only focused on making money to fuel the consumerism in society, they won't be considering the damage they are putting on the environment. I think this is where heavier federal regulations must come in. Having these types of regulations is possible, too! At my school, Bishop O'Dowd,  we have a Center for Environmental Sciences and Living Lab where the entire are is LEED certified and extremely sustainable. While it is a school and not a large corporation, we do produce some goods (eggs, vegetables, etc.), and, to me, it is really just proof that it is possible for there to be sustainable consumerism.

You're right- according to the Guardian, only 100 companies account for 71% of the world's carbon emissions since 1988. Additionally, as stated in the report cited in the article, the large scale emissions associated with these companies is large enough to have contributed to climate change. However, the pressure to change is not just on the big businesses but also on their investors. In the end, everything seems to come down to the money.
(https://www.theguardian.com/sustainable … ate-change)

I agree with the others regarding consumerism contributing to the carbon footprint. While Adeya mentioned how our school produces food in contrast to purchasing from big corporations, we can look more into the food industry's contribution. Food production alone accounts for about 17% of all carbon emissions, which will increase if more people buy more food. Meat is a big factor in the food industry's carbon production, as animals require massive amounts of resources and care. As the demand for meat increases, the requirement for more land and materials to raise these animals will greatly grow. With this in mind, consumerism definitely greatly increases the carbon footprint.http://www.greeneatz.com/foods-carbon-footprint.html