Ecological Footprint

(Retrieved July 21, 2011 from http://dieoff.org/page13.htm)

Ecological Footprints and Carrying Capacity: 

What Urban Economics Leaves Out

William E. Rees starts out this article using the concepts of carrying capacity – “the population of a given species that can be supported indefinitely in a given habitat without permanently damaging the ecosystem upon which it depends, and natural capital to argue against the present state of affairs in regards to urbanization and sustainability of cities” (p. 125). Rees asserts that even though cities may be geographically designed to accommodate certain discreet urban spaces, the consequential fall-out from trade and natural flow causes an over appropriation of the planets carrying capacity. The ecological footprint of cities is ecologically unstable and unsustainable. He also argues that economics is taking on the characteristics of a rogue wave, deviating from the theoretical foundations that support its sister discipline, ecology, and assuming the position of the “dominant economic paradigm” (p. 122). 

It is from this notion that weak sustainability, or living on the interest of natural capital, has become a method of environmental management over strong sustainability (see article, The Physical Destruction of Nauru: An example of Weak Sustainability). Rees echoes the sentiments of Hardin in the debate against the concept of weak sustainability discussing that “there are no technological substitutes” for the depletion of the environment (p. 125). This article also ponders the value of moving toward regional systems of governance.

(Retrieved July 21, 2011 from http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2010-07/we-might-be-living-black-hole-scientist-says)

Another interesting quote by Rees is that “every city is an ecological black hole drawing on the material resources” (p. 125) of areas that are both much larger and outside itself. He uses the Fraser Valley in BC as an example, and looking only at fuel and fossil for the area, estimates that the amount of land needed to support the population is over eight million hectares, when the valley is about 400,000 hectares. This leads to huge importing of carrying capacity to make up for this gap. This imported land is then growing this regions footprint, while taking away from another regions ability to have land as a resource for themselves.

Rees, M. W. (1992). Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: what urban economics leaves out. Environment and Urbanization, 4(2), 121-130.