Ecological footprint of humanity

Global ecological footprint

We call, global footprint, the pressure exerted by humanity on nature.
This concept was created in the 1990s by MM. Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, two researchers from the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
It assesses the productive area needed for a population to meet its consumption of resources and needs to absorb waste.
This request exceeds 2007, the limits of the regenerative capacity of ecosystems.
Demand world average is currently 14.1 billion hectares, or 2.23 global hectares per person while there is only 1.8 global hectares of land surfaces and biologically productive seas available per person .
The human economy is in ecological overshoot.
The global ecological footprint of humanity has increased by 50% between 1970 and 1997, an increase of about 1.5% per year.
The increasing proliferation of the human species on the planet can cause a real environmental collapse because humanity is using water faster than it recharges into the ground.
She cut the forests faster than they can regenerate, emits CO2 into the atmosphere faster than it can absorb. Given the demand it is likely that by 2050, humanity consumes twice what the planet can produce in natural resources.

Image: We call, global footprint, the pressure exerted by humanity on nature, above, the ecological footprint by world region (productive area per person needed to meet its consumption of resources). The global ecological footprint of humanity has increased by 50% between 1970 and 1997.

World energy demand

World oil demand will probably continue to rise in the next thirty years.
According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) this growth could be 60%, a forecast that remains shrouded in uncertainty, as it is difficult to assess the evolution of populations, economies, lifestyles , technology or industrial revolutions.
All forecasters agree on the fact that consumption growth will be largely driven by emerging countries with the largest populations, like China and India, experiencing buoyant economic growth.
The application of these countries will increase three times faster than the OECD area to almost half the total oil demand in 2030 (against 13% in 1970).
The planet is unlikely to provide all the energy we want. A revolution will take place on our way bulimic consumption.

Image: tep (ton oil equivalent).

Planet Earth is now too small

Catégorie: nature

According to the report of WWF (World Wildlife Fund), the increased need for humanity in natural resources is such that it will take additional land before 2040.
The report also gives an indication of what is called the ecological footprint, measuring the natural resource needs of an individual or population, of course for food but for everything else (different materials, occupancy land for housing and transport carbon balance...).
It is expressed in global hectares, giving the surface of land and sea required to meet these needs and to recycle waste products. According to figures from the report, the need exceeds the capacity of the planet since the late 1980s.
In 2005, the Ecological Footprint of all mankind was 17.5 billion global hectares. However, the production capacity of the planet expressed with the same unit, reached only 13.6 billion.
This difference of 29%, corresponds to the depletion of resources. At this rate, says the report, the gap will reach 100% during the 2030s.
What is telling in this organization that we will then have two Earths to our current lifestyles are maintained.
But there are not two Earths to us, so it's the man, merely renewable resources.

Image: the progression of humanity's ecological footprint, measured in global hectares.
WWF: The World Wide Fund for Nature (World Wide Fund for Nature), is a non-governmental organization of nature protection and environment, heavily involved in sustainable development. According to the figures in its report, the needs of humanity beyond the capacity of the planet since the late 1980s.