Humanity now requires the resources of one and a half planets
Humanity now requires the resources it would take almost one and a half planets to sustainably produce, according to figures to be released Tuesday by Global Footprint Network. The data show that humanity is demanding nature’s resources and producing CO2 at a rate 44 percent faster than what nature can regenerate and reabsorb, meaning it now takes 18 months for the Earth to regenerate what we use in one year. (See www.footprintnetwork.org/factsheet2009 for key findings.)
The urgent threats we are facing today – most notably climate change, but also biodiversity loss, shrinking forests, declining fisheries and freshwater stress – are symptoms of this alarming trend.
Every year, Global Footprint Network calculates the Ecological Footprint of more than 100 nations and humanity as a whole. The Ecological Footprint determines the amount of productive land and sea required to produce the resources a population consumes and absorb its wastes. Put simply, it calculates how much nature can provide, how much is being used, and who uses what.
The data show that between 2005 and 2006, the most recent year for which data are available, humanity’s Ecological Footprint grew almost 2 percent due to both rising population and per capita consumption. Humanity’s Footprint grew 22 percent from the decade before. At the same time, biocapacity – the amount of resources nature can produce – has remained constant, and may even have declined slightly.
The new numbers also reveal a growing disparity between those countries with the largest Ecological Footprints per capita – as high as 10 global hectares (26 global acres) – and those with the smallest, of just over one hectare (half an acre), in most cases too small to provide for basic needs. The data reveal that if everyone lived like the average American, it would require five planets to produce the resources we consume and absorb our CO2 emissions. If everyone lived like the average European, we would require the capacity of 2.5 planets.
Despite these sobering findings, there are key opportunities to change our trajectory. “These trends show it is in the self-interest of each government to act now to succeed in a resource-constrained world, no matter what happens on the world stage,” said Global Footprint Network President Mathis Wackernagel. “Even as world leaders have acknowledged that an agreement at Copenhagen is out of reach, governments we work with from Ecuador to the United Arab Emirates are seeing the importance of taking bold individual action.”
Global Footprint Network, www.footprintnetwork.org, is a nonprofit research organization, is working with government and opinion leaders on every continent to make ecological limits central to policy and decision-making.
Preview the new data: www.footprintnetwork.org/factsheet2009 .
To see press release go to http://myprgenie.com/3164
Tags: biodiversity, co2, declining fisheries, ecological footprint, electric, Energy, global footprint network, humanity, power, resources, shrinking forests
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Phthalates are solvents that are often used in cosmetics because they help retain fragrances and help lotions penetrate the skin. Many nail polish manufacturers have already eliminated phthalates, which had been commonly used to make the polish flexible and durable.
Nearly every human tested has traces of phthalates in his or her body, and women are most highly exposed. Fetuses are "uniquely vulnerable, particularly for endocrine disruptors," she said. "But we are very concerned about the problem of post-natal exposure as well. The kids continue to be exposed as they grow up."
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