Sustainability warm-up quiz

1. How many livable planets are there right now for humans to live on?

2. How much of the Earth is biologically productive?3. With how many species does our species share this planet

with?4. How big is the human population today?

1. In 1900?2. In 2100?

5. How much bio-capacity is there per person on this planet?6. How big are our Footprints (per person)? The Ecological

Footprint represents the biologically productive space necessary to produce what people consume. (acres /person for people)

7. What happens if there is only one cake and one of four party guests takes three times more than average?

Footprint

Ecological Footprint Accounting

Robert Steele, Associate & Senior Trainer

The AtKisson Group

The Apple Analogy

The Apple Analogy

1. First, slice the apple into quarters (4 equal pieces)

2. Set aside 3 pieces. They represent the oceans of the world.

3. Slice the remaining quarter in half and set aside one of the pieces

4. The 1/8 remaining represents the land area where people live, but do not necessarily grow the food they need for life.

5. Next, slice the 1/8 into four equal segments. Set aside three of the segments as they represent the areas that are too rocky, too wet, too cold, too steep or with very poor soil that can’t grow food. It also represents the urban and suburban sprawl, roads, shopping centers, schools, parks, factories, car parks, etc.

6. Finally, carefully peel the remaining slice. The skin represents al of the earth that remains to produce food.

Bioproductive segments

18% Biologically Productive Land

11%Deserts, Ice Caps and Barren Land

67% Low-ProductivityOcean

4%BiologicallyProductive Ocean

Bioproductive Segments

22%

Constant growth

Current world population: 6.2 billion people

Annual growth rate: 1.4 % (or 1.7 % in the 1980s)

Annual growth rate Population in 2100in billion

1.0% 16.2

1.3% 21.8

1.4% 24.1

1.5% 26.6

1.7% 32.4

Population Dynamics: how we do grow!

House on planet

People vs. nature

?

Earth Shares

An Earthshare is the amount of land each person on the planet would get if all the ecologically productive land (and some sea) on Earth were divided evenly among the present world population.

Earthshares

There are approximately 12.5 billion hectares of ecologically productive land (and some sea) in the world and over 6.2 billion people. Divided equally among everyone, this means each person is entitled to approximately 1.8 hectares of land.

Land + Sea = 1.8 hectares/person

One hectare

Calculate your own Footprint at:

http://www.myfootprint.org/

www.myfootprint.org

1. Record your Ecological Footprint on the flip chart table and number of planets needed to sustain your lifestyle

2. Now go back and play around with the calculator and try to see about how you can reduce your footprint.

3. Go to the Population link

Footprint Instructions……

Sitting on footprintWhat is the Eco Footprint?

What is Ecological Footprint?

IN SIMPLE TERMS:

Ecological Footprint calculates how much land (and some sea) is necessary to sustain our life style. It translates everything you consume, produce and throw out into a land area measurement called hectares (ha). 1 ha = 10,000 m2

Ecological Footprint is an “ecological camera” that takes a snapshot of our current demands on nature.

Ecological footprint is a tool for measuring and analyzing human natural resource consumption and waste output within the context of nature’s renewable and regenerative capacity (or biocapacity).

What does Ecological Footprint calculate?

Categories for consumption

• Food (energy inputs)

• Housing (energy inputs and resources)

• Transportation

• Other goods and services (clothing recreation, appliances, government services, etc.)

Categories for Waste

• Sewage

• Carbon Dioxide

Island - equitable

Remember Earth Shares?

Clearly, as the population increases, our Earthshares shrink.

How much will each of us have when we hit 8 or even 10 billion people?

• Currently, are Earthshares equally distributed around the globe?

• What happens when some people have larger shares?

US Ecological Footprint9.57 ha/person

The largest per capita on the planet!!!

Island - inequitable

World Ecological Footprint1961-2001

0.00

0.20

0.40

0.60

0.80

1.00

1.20

1.40

1961 1966 1971 1976 1981 1986 1991 1996 2001

Num

ber

of E

arth

s

Growth in the Ecological Footprint

Growth in the Ecological Footprint

Ecological Demand (Ecological Footprint) Ecological Supply (Biocapacity)

Footprint Areas for: Biocapacity Areas:

Growing Crops 0.49 Crop land 0.53

Grazing Animals 0.14 Grazing land 0.27

Settlements & infrastructure0.07 Built-up area 0.07

Producing timber & fuelwood0.24 Forest 0.81

Absorbing excess CO2 1.12

Harvesting Fish 0.13 Fishing Grounds 0.14

Total Global Demand2.2 Total Global Supply 1.8

Global Footprint Accounts

(in global hectares/person, 2001 data)

Demand

Exceeds

Supply

By

20%

>

Global Footprint

Moving to cities . . .

Three billion people already live in cities. Cities, directly and indirectly, are responsible for the bulk of the planet’s consumption. They account for 80 % of the world’s use of fossil fuels. By 2030, over 60% of the world’s population will live in cities.

Living Large . . .

How big would the glass hemisphere need to be so that the city under it could sustain itself exclusively on the ecosystem contained?

From Wackernagel and Rees, 1996, Ecological Footprint Analysis

Are we the Boiled Frog?

From Wackernagel and Rees, 1996, Our Ecological Footprint.

We have Overshot the Earths’ Carrying Capacity

Humanity’s Ecological Footprint has overshot the limits of environmental sustainability.

Humanity’s total Ecological Footprint increased to 13.2 billion global hectares, growing by 147 global hectares between 1999 and 2000.

Living Planet Report 2002, WWF International and Redefining Progress

Earth’s Sustainability

We are here now!

Overshoot is growth beyond carrying capacity

Carrying capacity limits can be overshot without a “big bang” because of the availability of large capital stocks. Harvests can still increase and money incomes rise, and where there may be indications of ecological stress, all else may seem normal. Ultimately, however, the consequences of eroded natural capital may be felt as eco-catastrophe and population crash.

From Wackernagel and Rees, 1996, Our Ecological Footprint.

Living planet report cover

Download at www.panda.org

Sustainability warm-up quiz

1. How many livable planets are there right now for humans to live on?

2. How much of the Earth is biologically productive?3. With how many species does our species share this planet

with?4. How big is the human population today?

1. In 1900?2. In 2100?

5. How much bio-capacity is there per person on this planet?6. How big are our Footprints (per person)? The Ecological

Footprint represents the biologically productive space necessary to produce what people consume. (acres /person for people)

7. What happens if there is only one cake and one of four party guests takes three times more than average?