Our Ecological Footprint
William Rees echoes the words of Hardin in the introduction of this book, saying that as humans we must understand that the environmental crisis we have created is not so much an environmental or technical problem, but a behavioral, social one. In order to decrease our ecological footprint a greater awareness of the consequences of the decisions that are made about the sustainability of our environment is needed. Our Ecological Footprint provides a simple concept that is quite comprehensive and technical at times.
The beginning chapters of the book provide a basic definition of sustainability and the concept of the ecological footprint. One example of this is a wonderful analogy using the illustration of a terrarium covering a certain area, and asking the question, ”what is the total area of terrestrial ecosystem types needed continuously to support all the social and economic activities carried out by the people in that region as they go about their daily activities?” (p.11). How about the island?
In the third chapter, we find the general idea of how an ecological footprint can be calculated, and the types of resources that need to be accounted for. The authors also run through a few examples of how footprints can be calculated ranging from cities (Vancouver) to hinterland areas (The Fraser Valley) to nation-by-nation basis (Canada, India, and the Netherlands). Although the authors don’t claim to have developed a conclusive method for calculating individual ecological footprints, they invite interested readers to do so on their own. You can calculate your footprint on the website The Global Footprint Network: Advancing the Science of Sustainability (below):
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| (Retrieved July 19, 2011 from http://www.auburn.edu/projects/sustainability/website/footprint/footprint.php) |
Though the above calculator doesn't measure your footprint in British Columbia, choosing Calgary gives a good estimation of your footprint. The site (below) is a great Student Ecological Footprint Calculator. It looks at your ecological footprint by calculating things like your transportation, water use, and the amount of garbage you create over three days. According to the website, if everyone lived like we do in Canada, we would need four more earths!
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| (Retrieved July 19, 2011 from http://www.ecovoyageurs.ca/en/page.cgi?stage=footprint/footprint) |
Rees, M. W. (1996). Our Ecological Footprint. Gabriola Island, BC, Canada: New Society.
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