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News Archive

Environmental Risks Threaten Government Debt Markets, Global Footprint Network & UNEP Say
The E-RISC, or Environmental Risk in Sovereign Credit Analysis tool can be used to incorporate natural resource risks into sovereign credit risk assessments. Investors want to better understand emerging risks in the bond market, the report said, because concerns that debt levels in Europe and the U.S. have shaken the perception government bonds are risk free.
Business Week, London, UK, November 19, 2012
Environmental risk may be bad for your wealth
The environmental risks to which certain sovereign bonds are exposed could cost investors dearly, according to the new E-RISC study by Global Footprint Network and UNEP FI.
Financial News, London, UK, November 13, 2012
Op-Ed: Sovereign Environmental Risk
Environmental risks are potentially large enough to affect countries’ economies in ways that could influence their willingness or ability to repay sovereign debt. In addition, these risks vary widely across countries, including countries whose current credit ratings suggest similar levels of sovereign risk.
Project Syndicate, London, UK, October 26, 2012
Il debito ecologico - Luca Mercalli a Che tempo che fa
Luca Mercalli, il debito delle risorse fisiche del pianeta, la spending review ecologica dei Paesi del Mediterraneo e la fragilità dell'Italia.
RAI TV, Italy, October 07, 2012
Ab heute geht es an die Substanz
Seit Anfang des Jahres haben wir so viel Ressourcen verbraucht, wie die Erde in einem ganzen Jahr kompensieren kann. Das ist die Botschaft des Earth Overshoot Day, des Welterschöpfungstages, dessen Termin das US-amerikanische Global Footprint Network jährlich berechnet. Bis zum Jahresende lebe die Menschheit über ihre Verhältnisse, heißt es in einer Mitteilung des Netzwerks.
Taz: Die Tageszeitung, Berlin, Germany, August 23, 2012
La humanidad ya ha agotado su presupuesto ecológico anual
La humanidad acaba de agotar su presupuesto ambiental para 2012, según los datos de la Global Footprint Network y la New Economics Fundation (NEF, por sus siglas en inglés), entrando desde el miércoles 22 en déficit ecológico.
El Mundo, Madrid, Spain, August 23, 2012
Da oggi il pianeta viaggia in riserva
È l’Overshoot Day, il giorno in cui la Terra finisce le risorse dell’anno. Venticinque anni fa la data cadeva a dicembre, ora arriva ad agosto E gli studiosi avvertono: l’umanità avrebbe bisogno di una Terra e mezza è il momento di pensare al futuro e di invertire la tendenza
La Stampa, Rome, Italy, August 23, 2012
Mercredi 22 août, l'humanité a déjà épuisé son crédit annuel de ressources naturelles
Mauvaise nouvelle pour la planète. Cette année, il n'aura fallu que 234 jours à l'humanité pour consommer toutes les ressources naturelles que la Terre peut produire en un an. Nous avons atteint, mercredi 22 août, le "Global Overshoot Day", le "jour du dépassement". En d'autres termes, nous vivrons à crédit jusqu'à la fin de l'année. (more...)
Le Monde, Paris, France, August 22, 2012
2012 Blue Planet Prize Winners Offer Hope for Greener World
“We’re facing a global storm, and the question is, is our boat ready?” Mathis Wackernagel asked the crowd gathered at the Japan Pavilion at the UN Conference on Sustainable Development in Rio de Janeiro Sunday. Wackernagel, who hails from Switzerland and is president of the Global Footprint Network, was being honored with a 2012 Blue Planet Prize, along with William Rees and Thomas Lovejoy. Rees, a Canadian, is a professor at the University of British Columbia, and Lovejoy, an American, is a professor of environmental science and policy at George Mason University, as well as a fellow at National Geographic.
National Geographic , Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 18, 2012
L'Afrique confrontée à ses limites écologiques
Sur les hauts plateaux du nord de la Tanzanie, entre les contreforts du Kilimandjaro et le lac Victoria, l'Afrique offre ses plus belles étendues de savane. Sanctuaire d'une faune sauvage qui alimente l'image immuable d'un continent où une nature préservée garderait toute sa place. Le cliché ne vaut pourtant que pour les dépliants touristiques et c'est une tout autre réalité qui s'est invitée dans les assemblées annuelles de la Banque africaine de développement (BAD), entre un bulletin économique plutôt flatteur pour la région, quelques leçons tirées des "printemps arabes" et le constat de blocages persistants sur la voie du développement.
Le Monde, France, Arusha, Tanzanie, June 04, 2012
Talking Happiness
The UN conference on “High Level Meeting on Wellbeing and Happiness: Defining a New Economic Paradigm,” organized by the nation of Bhutan, was especially noteworthy.The conference encompassed four days, of which the first, third, and fourth were working sessions tasked with producing an agenda and preliminary report. The second day was a more public event (still by invitation) in which I participated. Six hundred dignitaries, scholars, and NGO representatives crowded into a windowless UN meeting hall for six hours of speeches, comments, and questions—all focused on the government of Bhutan’s initiative to replace or augment GDP as a measure of national and global economic progress.
Post Carbon Institute: Richard Heinberg, New York, USA, April 06, 2012
Vancouver Scientists Unveil Global Rankings Index Measuring Economy and Ecology
TORONTO – While Canada has an abundance of resources from forests to fisheries to oil sands, scientists suggest that the country is edging closer to the limit of using up our environment. At the moment, Canada ranks 15th out of 150 countries in the Eco2 Index, which measures the overall economic and ecological “health” of the globe’s nations. Read it on Global News: Global News | Vancouver scientists unveil global index measuring economy and ecology
Global News, Toronto, February 21, 2012
Footprinting Walks A Fine Line
The idea of calculating one's "footprint" began in the 1990s with the notion of an "ecological footprint," a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. In those terms, a footprint is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital relative to the planet's capacity to regenerate it. Organizations like the Global Footprint Network (whose founder, Mathis Wackernagel, helped popularize the concept) use footprint calculations to answer such confounding questions as "How many Earths would it take if everyone lived like us?"
Greenbiz.com, USA, January 25, 2012
A Decade in Service of the Planet
DUBAI -The Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) has been a pioneering environmental organisation in the UAE, instrumental in bringing about a quality shift in the approach towards green issues both at the governmental as well as individual level. Under the expert guidance of its global partner, the World Wild Fund (WWF), and with admirable support from the authorities, the non-governmental organisation (NGO) has created an atmosphere conducive for environmental work. Right from the initiatives like the Ecological Footprint Initiative (Al Bassama Al Bee’ah) to declaring Wadi Wuraiah as a protected zone, the EWS has in a decade of its service laid ground for the sustainable development of the UAE.
Khaleej Times Online, Abu Dhabi, UAE, January 03, 2012
Forests into fixed income
Despite being relatively new to the fixed income market, green bonds offer responsible investors a good opportunity to invest sustainably. First issued by the World Bank in December 2008, green bonds have become an attrac¬tive alternative investment for responsi¬ble investors trying to integrate climate change into their portfolios.
Investments & Pensions Europe, London, England, December 01, 2011
Stuffing ourselves on Black Friday
Today is Black Friday, when holiday shopping hordes descend on malls across the country, and retailers hope to turn a profit as their accounting books transition from red ink to black. This year, Black Friday comes two months after Global Overshoot Day, when our planet's accounts — the ones that measure human demand on the planet's services that support our economies — transitioned the other direction, from black to red.
Los Angeles Times, USA, November 25, 2011
The "Super Committee" That's Not Meeting This Week
This "super committee" does not have any meetings scheduled this week, and despite the urgency and importance of its mission, it has no legal mandate or deadline. It doesn't even have a formal membership. For all practical purposes it doesn't exist. The accumulating debt that it needs to address is so large that it defies computation, but it easily dwarfs the worst of the federal debt projections. By the standards of Wall Street financial analysts, the entity which it seeks to save is "too big to fail." Nothing, however, guarantees that it won't. Indeed, unless the "super committee" gets busy, failure in some form is almost inevitable. The signs of impending collapse are all too apparent.
Robert Walker, Huffington Post, World, November 16, 2011
'La importancia de ver al planeta como una finca': Mathis Wackernagel
Este ingeniero mecánico fue el inventor del concepto 'huella ecológica'. Mathis Wackernagel me habla con entusiasmo, como si le hubieran dado una última oportunidad para convencerme de algo. No es un suizo promedio: hace bromas, sonríe mucho y tiene la paciencia de un maestro de escuela para explicarme los secretos de un tema que, aunque popular, podría servir para corchar al economista más serio. Este ingeniero mecánico fue el inventor del concepto 'huella ecológica', dos palabras con las que hoy recorre el mundo para advertirle a la humanidad lo cerca que estamos de un colapso.
El Tiempo.com, Columbia, November 15, 2011
September 27th is Earth Overshoot Day: the day when human demand exceeded the regenerative capacity
Katsunori Iha, Research Economist, featured in Science Links Japan. Global Footprint Network announced that “Earth Overshoot Day” this year fell on September 27th, the day when human demand exceeded the regenerative capacity of the natural biosystem in a year. This means that we will maintain “ecological debt” with three months remaining to the end of the year. The indicator used is derived from the Ecological Footprint analysis, a method that is fast gaining attention in recent years. Here, I would like to give an overview of the Ecological Footprint analysis, and the significance of what it analyses, “Earth Overshoot Day”. Read articles in French; Japanese; Chinese
Science Links Japan, Japan, November 11, 2011
Why Are We Destroying Wealth Faster Than We Can Create It
Siemens AG magazine held an interview with Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D on the Ecological Footprint, a description of the Ecological Footprint, calculations and visions for the future. Siemens AG is a international powerhouse consultancy for green products and services, with over 160 years of corporate responsibility at local and international levels incorporating power and energy, water, building, lighting, mobility and healthcare.
Siemens AG, Global, November 11, 2011
Crowded Earth: how many is too many?
Already straining to host seven billion souls, Earth is set to teem with billions more, and only a revolution in the use of resources can avert an environmental crunch, experts say. As early as 1798, Thomas Malthus gloomily forecast that our ability to reproduce would quickly outstrip our ability to produce food, leading to mass starvation and a culling of the species. But an industrial revolution and its impact on agriculture proved Malthus and later doomsayers wrong, even as our numbers doubled and redoubled with accelerating frequency.
Agence France Press, Paris, France, October 23, 2011
Guld i telefonen
Danmark er blandt eliten, når det kommer til, hvor meget vi forbruger. I en rapport fra WWF Verdensnaturfonden er Danmark placeret på en tredjeplads over de mest ressourceforbrugende lande, kun overgået af Qatar og De arabiske Emirater. Hvis resten af verden var lige så ivrige forbrugere som vi danskere er, skal der mere end fire jordkloder til, for at skaffe ressourcer nok.
Penge, DR1, Denmark, October 19, 2011
GreenSpace: The day Earth has had enough
The world recently passed one significant date, and it's headed for another. No, I don't mean Yom Kippur or Thanksgiving. Sept. 27 was Earth Overshoot Day, designated by the Global Footprint Network as the time when the planet's humans surpassed "nature's budget" for the year.
The Philidelphia Inquirer, Philidelphia, PA, October 17, 2011
Emirates Environmental Group dedicated to increase recycling efforts during Earth Overshoot Day
It is possible to turn the tide. Global Footprint Network and its network of partners, such as the Emirates Environmental Group 'EEG', is working with individuals, organizations and governments around the globe to make decisions that are aligned with ecological reality - decisions that can help close the ecological budget gap and provide for a prosperous future in the face of changing and challenging resource trends. EEG's overall mission was formulated to help increase the protection for the environment and planet, through means of education and community action.
Islamic Finance News, Dubai, UAE, September 26, 2011
Organise an energy race and companies will come
Bjorn Stigson tells his business students at Sweden's University of Gothenburg: "I have been in business for about 40 years in different ways, but I'm not going to talk to you about my experiences. What I am going to talk to you about is your life, your 40 years.
Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, August 27, 2011
No Balanced Budget Without Independence From Wall Street
"We need to balance the budget in order to grow the economy." In the midst of the federal debt-ceiling food fight, this may be one of the only ideas both political parties can more or less agree on. And coincidentally, it may also be one of the best examples of just how completely out of touch with economic reality both parties are.
The Huffington Post, New York, USA, August 24, 2011
La importancia de pensar como un ganadero de Texas
Lo que denuncia Mathis Wackernagel (Zurich, 1962) podría resumirse en una premisa muy simple: la toma de decisiones de los países sobre su consumo de recursos naturales tiene poco que ver con el cálculo que hace un ganadero de Texas para saber cuántas vacas puede alimentar en su finca.
El País, Santiago, Spain, June 24, 2011
La Xunta estudia calcular la huella ecológica en Galicia para evaluar hábitos
La Xunta ha informado en un comunicado de esta iniciativa, tras el encuentro que han mantenido hoy el titular de Medio Ambiente, Territorio e Infraestructuras, Agustín Hernández, con el presidente de Ecological Footprint Network, Mathis Wackernagel, responsable del desarrollo de la Pegada Ecológica y otros indicadores de evaluación ambiental.
ABC, Madrid, Spain, June 23, 2011
The Earth is Full
You really do have to wonder whether a few years from now we’ll look back at the first decade of the 21st century — when food prices spiked, energy prices soared, world population surged, tornados plowed through cities, floods and droughts set records, populations were displaced and governments were threatened by the confluence of it all — and ask ourselves: What were we thinking?
New York Times, New York, June 07, 2011
Interview with EOS Magazine
Wie nog niet van de ecologische voetafdruk heeft gehoord, heeft de voorbije jaren vermoedelijk onder een steen geleefd – overigens een prima manier om je voetafdruk te verkleinen. De ecologische voetafdruk meet hoeveel land- en oceaanoppervlak er nodig is om in ons consumptiepatroon te voorzien en ons afval – in casu CO2 – te verwerken.
EOS Magazine, Holland, May 01, 2011
Contiamo le nostre risorse
Che non sia piu tempo di sprecare, si sa. Adesso tocca alla politica. Con un obiettivo: consumare meno e progettare meglio.
WIRED Magazine, Italy, May 01, 2011
The Resource Countdown
The waste party's over. Time for government to enter the scene. The goal: consume less and design better.
WIRED Magazine , San Francisco, CA, May 01, 2011
Saving of Ecology Begins at Home
Environmentalists seek public’s participation beyond events as households contribute 57 per cent of UAE’s eco-footprint. DUBAI – Contrary to the common perception that the industries and business entities are responsible for most of the country’s pollution or carbon footprint, the Ecological Footprint Initiative (EFI) undertaken by the Emirates Wildlife Society (EWS) has found out that 57 per cent of the UAE’s eco footprint is contributed by households.
Khaleej Times, Dubai, April 22, 2011
An ecological calculator to help make your home-buying decision
If you can apply a hard-headed business perspective to a home purchase, you don’t need a deep understanding of environmental issues to make a decision that is more environmentally benign, said Mathis Wackernagel, the man who devised the Ecological Footprint, a widely used metric for assessing the impact of human activities on the earth’s resources.
The Washington Post, Washington D.C., April 01, 2011
A Footprint That Tells Us How Heavily We Tread On Our Planet
Do you know what your ecological footprint is? In other words, how many Earths would it take to supply all the needs of your lifestyle - food, material goods and energy - while absorbing your carbon dioxide and other waste? You may not know, but the fact that we can ask the question at all is a tribute to the sustainability pioneer Dr Mathis Wackernagel, who spoke at the Dubai School of Government last Tuesday. He, with Professor William Rees, advanced the idea of the ecological footprint in his 1994 doctorate, and so introduced an easily comprehensible benchmark for explaining to the public and its leaders how sustainable their consumption is.
The National Conversation, Washington, D.C., March 22, 2011
Winners of the Zayed International Prize for Environment named
he $1 million prize money is to be shared by President Lee Myung-bak of the Republic of Korea, Indian national Sir Partha Dasgupta, and Dr Mathis Wackernagel and Professor Najib Saab from Lebanon.
Gulf News, Dubai, UAE, March 02, 2011
Stomping on biodiversity: humanity's growing Ecological Footprint
Alessandro Galli, Global Footprint Network's Senior Scientist, featured in the Commonwealth Ministers article. In 2002, leaders of the world’s governments, recognising the threat posed by the high rate of species declines, committed to significantly halting the rate of biodiversity loss by 2010. Yet, a 2010 study by Dr Stuart Butchart and others in the journal Science shows that leaders have failed to deliver on these commitments and have instead overseen alarming declines. In this article the author considers the urgent new initiatives to contain and reverse these global losses.
Commonwealth Ministers Reference Book 2010, London, UK, December 10, 2010
China's Ecological Footprint Continues to Grow
The spread of consumerism among China's burgeoning middle class is behind the rapid growth of the Asian giant's environmental footprint, a conservation group said Monday
Agence France Presse, Beijing, November 14, 2010
China's Ecological Footprint Continues to Grow
BEIJING — The spread of consumerism among China's burgeoning middle class is behind the rapid growth of the Asian giant's environmental footprint, a conservation group said Monday. Demand for construction, transport, goods and public services are the key factors behind ballooning carbon emissions, the World Wildlife Fund said in its annual "China Ecological Footprint" report.
Agence France-Presse (AFP), Beijing, China, November 14, 2010
Can Innovation Change the World? Social Innovation Awards to Recognize Market Leaders
Since the Club of Rome was established in 1968, thousands of companies, industry associations, non-profit organizations and social enterprises have championed the cause of sustainable development and responsible enterprise. To that end, many of the 5,000+ companies that now disclose on their social and environmental performance have moved CSR and Sustainability out of their foundations, community relations, and public relations departments and are embedding social and environmental management into business strategy. The Social Innovation Awards, now in its third annual year, will recognize a growing group of companies and non-profit organizations that are pushing the boundaries of innovation within the realm of sustainability.
Triple Pundit, , November 04, 2010
In 20 Years, We Will Need a Second Earth
If humanity continues sucking up resources at its current rate, we will need a second planet to meet our material needs by 2030 and the equivalent of 2.8 planets by 2050. That's the conclusion of the World Wildlife Fund's biennial "Living Planet Report", which evaluates our ecological footprint--the total demand on Earth's ecosystems. The good news is, we can still turn things around.
Fast Company, New York, October 13, 2010
2030: The date we need to double our Earth
We're running out of Earth, it seems. Forget the Mayan calendar. The Earth won't end in 2012. It's got at least until 2030 before its expiration officially starts. At least, a new report by the WWF, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network says so.
The Washington Post, Washington, DC, October 13, 2010
Western lifestyles plundering tropics at record rate
Living Planet report shows planet's resources are being used at 1.5 times the rate nature can replace them – but long-term decline of animal life appears to have been halted.
The Guardian, London, October 13, 2010
The Human as Bigfoot
Ah, if only the feet — or, to be more precise, the footprints — contemplated in the World Wildlife Fund’s latest edition of its biennial Living Planet Report were small. But as development marches on throughout the world, the footprints of the Earth’s inhabitants grow ever larger.
New York Times, New York, October 13, 2010
UN asks for action on nature loss, citing poverty
Governments must protect nature better in order to safeguard their countries' wealth, says the UN, as ministers meet for a day of talks on biodiversity.
BBC, London, September 22, 2010
Horns, claws and the bottom line
...According to the Global Footprint Network, a San Francisco think-tank which seeks to quantify demand and supply of natural resources, the “biocapacity” of Africa per person has fallen by half since 1960 (see chart).
The Economist, London, September 02, 2010
Jordens resurser slut för i år
På tisdagen tog jordens resurser slut. Då inträffade "Earth overshoot day", den dagen då mänskligheten konsumerat allt som jorden förmår att producera under ett år. Resten av året kommer vi att tära på reserverna.
Dagens Nyheter, Sweden, August 23, 2010
Oops! Our Planetary eco-Checkbook Bounced Over Weekend
I regret to inform you that while you were out enjoying yourself this past weekend, your account became overdrawn. Yes, you. All of us, in fact. The folks at Global Footprint Network have determined that August 21st was this year's Earth Overshoot Day.
The Huffington Post, USA, August 23, 2010
e da Oggi il Pianeta Ha Esaurito le Risorse Naturali dell' Anno
Il 21 agosto non è una data qualsiasi per il Pianeta. È il giorno in cui, secondo i calcoli del Global Footprint Network, la Terra ha esaurito, per quest' anno, la sua capacità di fornirci spontaneamente e gratuitamente i suoi servizi (acqua, suolo coltivabile, risorse della pesca) e di assorbire l' anidride carbonica e gli altri inquinanti, responsabili dei cambiamenti climatici di cui le ultime settimane ci hanno dato tragiche testimonianze.
Corriere della Sera, Rome, August 21, 2010
A partir d’aujourd’hui, la planète vit à crédit
Comment sensibiliser le public aux enjeux environnementaux cruciaux sans passer pour l’éternel rabat-joie de service ? C’est la question que se posent quotidiennement les écologistes. L’une des solutions : simplifier la complexité des problèmes en diffusant un message de communication global et percutant.
Le Monde, Paris, August 21, 2010
Happy "Earth Overshoot Day"
We've Consumed the Planet's Resources This Year Faster Than Ever! According to calculations by the Global Footprint Network.
Discovery Channel, Planet Green, USA, August 21, 2010
We've gone into the ecological red
The more we overshoot the available budget, the earlier in the year we start to go into the ecological red. Collectively we started to live beyond our means ...
The Guardian, London, August 21, 2010
De aarde is voor dit jaar al opgebruikt
In minder dan negen maanden hebben we de beschikbare grondstoffen voor dit jaar geconsumeerd. Dat is alweer sneller dan in 2009, waarin het vorige record ook al werd gebroken.
De Standaard, Brussels, Belgium, August 19, 2010
A partir de samedi, la Terre vit à crédit jusqu'à la fin de l'année
A partir du 21 août et jusqu'à la fin de l'année, les Terriens vivront à crédit sur les ressources de la planète. Chaque année, l'ONG Global Footprint Network (GFN) calcule le jour où la consommation de l'humanité en ressources naturelles a épuisé ce que la planète est capable de fournir en une année, de la filtration de l'eau douce à la fourniture de matières premières, y compris alimentaires.
Agence France Press (AFP), Paris, August 16, 2010
Noticias » Noticias » El Mundo La Tierra vivirá a crédito desde el sábado sobre los recursos del planeta
La Tierra vivirá a crédito sobre los recursos del planeta desde el próximo 21 de agosto y hasta finales del año, anunció el lunes una organización de defensa del medio ambiente. El 'Día Mundial del Sobregiro' (Earth Overshoot Day) será el sábado 21 de agosto próximo, indicó la organización Global Footprint, explicando que esa fecha representa un hito desafortunado porque es el día en el que la humanidad comienza a vivir más allá de sus medios ecológicos.
Agence France Press (AFP), Mexico, August 16, 2010
Los recursos de la Tierra para este año se agotan el 21 de agosto y empezaremos a 'vivir a cuenta'
Nuestro planeta se gasta con el uso y cada vez le dejamos menos tiempo para regenerar lo que consumimos y reabsorber los desechos que producimos. De hecho, este año, el 21 de agosto ya habremos gastado todos los recursos naturales que la Tierra puede generar en un año, con lo que en menos de nueve meses nos habremos fundido todo el presupuesto ecológico anual disponible y tendremos que empezar a vivir del crédito.
Radio Televisión Española, Spain, August 16, 2010
“Earth Overshoot Day” falls a month earlier than last year
British think-tank the New Economics Foundation measures how much resources humans are using and this year’s results aren’t good.
Macleans, Canada, August 16, 2010
Mankind is using up global resources faster than ever
The growing world population and increasing consumption has pushed the world into ‘eco-debt’ a month earlier this year, according to the latest statistics on global resources.
The Telegraph, London, August 16, 2010
HPA to celebrate Energy Lab opening (April 16-17)
Hawaii Preparatory Academy is celebrating the grand opening of its new Energy Lab with a series of school and community activities April 16-17. Energy Lab Director Dr. Bill Wiecking and architect David Croteau of Flansburgh Architects will be on hand to answer questions about this unique educational facility and how it is opening a new era in the way students learn about sustainability.
Hawaii 24/7, US, April 13, 2010
Wir liquidieren unsere Ökosysteme
Die Menschheit lebt heute zunehmend auf Kosten der Umwelt. Der Basler Umweltwissenschafter Mathis Wackernagel hat den ökologischen Fussabdruck entwickelt, eine Berechnungsmethode für den nachhaltigen Umgang mit natürlichen Ressourcen. Umdenken tut not, sagt Wackernagel. Doch deswegen den moralischen Drohfinger erheben will er nicht.
Zürcher Landzeitung, Zurich, April 03, 2010
Il rêve de laisser son empreinte
L’homme qui a fait comprendre aux Occidentaux qu’ils « consommaient » des planètes, c’est lui. L’inventeur de l’« empreinte écologique » rêve que son indice de croissance remplace un jour le Produit intérieur brut
Terra Eco, Nantes, France, February 01, 2010
Il rêve de laisser
L’homme qui a fait comprendre aux Occidentaux qu’ils « consommaient » des planètes, c’est lui. L’inventeur de l’« empreinte écologique » rêve que son indice de croissance remplace un jour le Produit intérieur brut.
Terra eco, France, February 01, 2010
Is GDP An Obsolete Measure of Progress?
Could it be that the GDP, that gold standard of economic data, might not be the best way to gauge a nation's relative prosperity? One new calculation that's been attracting attention is the Happy Planet Index (HPI), which combines economic metrics with indicators of well-being, including subjective measures of life satisfaction, which have become quite sophisticated (HPI uses data from Gallup, World Values Survey, and Ecological Footprint).
TIME, , January 30, 2010
Economic growth cannot buy the planet more time
Global economic growth - in its current form - cannot continue if nations are serious about curbing climate change, says Andrew Simms. The latest set of accounts for humanity's ecological footprint reveal that, conservatively, it takes the Earth nearly 18 months to produce the ecological services that humanity uses in one year.
BBC, UK, January 26, 2010
Vancouver engineers its own urban dream
If everyone on Earth lived as people in Vancouver did, Rees calculated, it would take four planets to keep them alive. That message resonated, and it changed Rees' adopted city. To a degree probably unmatched anywhere else in North America, the city of Vancouver has tried to impose notions of sustainability in its decisions on what, where and how to build.
The Los Angeles Times, Vancouver, Canada, January 12, 2010
Abu Dhabi sets ambitious green tourism targets
Abu Dhabi has announced ambitious environmental targets for 2010, promising to slash energy, water and waste-to-landfill usage. In 2008, the WWF ranked the United Arab Emirates as having the largest ecological footprint per capita of any country on the planet, primarily due to its carbon levels from intensive energy needs.
The Independent, United Arab Emirates, January 07, 2010
The Happiest People
Costa Rica wins the day, for achieving contentment and longevity in an environmentally sustainable way. The Dominican Republic ranks second, the United States 114th (because of its huge ecological footprint) and Zimbabwe is last.
The New York Times, San Jose, Costa Rica, January 06, 2010
Report: the future of Africa looks bleak
A report by the Global Footprint released today said effective management of ecological assets can help address poverty and support changes to human life, as spelled out in the United Nations Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).
Daily News, Tanzania, January 04, 2010
Sustainable Future?
According to the Global Footprint Network and the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), India now has the world’s third largest ecological footprint (after the United States and China), and its citizens are using almost twice what the natural resources within the country can sustain.
Frontline Magazine, India, January 02, 2010
Response to the Environment Ministry
Every developing country wants to act like the United States and be like the United States though this is physically impossible. According to the Global According to the Global Footprint Network, Turkey’s total bio-capacity figure stands at 1.5. The translation is, is if the entire humanity lived just like we do, we would need two earths!
Daily News & Economic Review, Turkey, December 31, 2009
Can we save the summit that was supposed to save the world?
It is a classic tactic in international diplomacy. If you’re worried about not succeeding, talk up your chances of failure in the hope that whatever you do end up achieving looks like a success. That is exactly what has been happening in the run-up to the crucial world climate summit in Copenhagen, Denmark.
HeraldScotland.com, Scotland, December 22, 2009
Questions for the new world
Our need for a greener, life-enhancing economic model should make us seek answers in the unlikeliest of places.
The Guardian, UK, December 17, 2009
Climate conference emits its share of carbon
If they fail to reach a climate deal in Copenhagen, world leaders flying in their private jets and huddling in five-star hotels will have little to show for their efforts beyond a big, fat carbon footprint.
Associated Press, Copenhagen, December 15, 2009
Humanity's Increasing Impact
New data shows that humanity’s ecological footprint grew almost two per cent between 2005 and 2006 and we now need nearly one and a half Planet Earths to support human activity.
AustralianGeographic.com, Australia, December 02, 2009
We're Borrowing Half A Planet From Our Kids
Global society draws down the planet’s capital ever more quickly. According to new data just released by the Global Footprint Network, our ecological footprint amounts to 6.4 acres per person – almost 50 percent more than the Earth’ biocapacity of 4.5 acres per person.
The Huffington Post, , November 30, 2009
Una herramienta para buscar nuestro desarrollo sostenible
Mientras por un lado hablamos de la importancia de los recursos naturales, por otro seguimos aferrados al concepto de que desarrollo implica necesariamente incrementos en la producción y en el consumo. Lo que nos obliga a preguntarnos: ¿cuánto “desarrollo” y cuánto desgaste de los recursos naturales son aceptables para asegurar un balance entre estos factores y una buena calidad de vida?
La Prensa Libre, Costa Rica, November 26, 2009
Energiepolitik neu aufgleisen

ObZ, Switzerland, November 26, 2009
Nuestro déficit ecológico
Los patrones de consumo de los costarricenses, dice el informe sobre el ‘ Estado de la Nación,’ superan los recursos que nuestro territorio es capaz de producir. En los foros sobre cambio climático, Costa Rica debe hablar con firmeza y, ojalá, con la autoridad moral de un país capaz de contribuir cuanto sea necesario.
Nacion.com, Costa Rica, November 25, 2009
Menschheit verbraucht Ressourcen schneller als sie nachwachsen
Die Menschheit verbraucht die natürlichen Ressourcen schneller als sie nachwachsen können. Um den Jahresverbrauch der Menschen zu regenerieren, benötigt die Erde inzwischen etwa 18 Monate, besagt eine Studie der US-Umweltschutzinitiative Global Footprint Network.
A-Z.ch, Switzerland, November 24, 2009
Mankind Using Earth's Resources at Alarming Rate
Humanity would need five Earths to produce the resources needed if everyone lived as profligately as Americans, according to a report issued Tuesday. As it is, humanity each year uses resources equivalent to nearly one-and-a-half Earths to meet its needs, said the report by Global Footprint Network, an international think tank.
Agence France Presse, Washington, DC, November 23, 2009
Wir sollen wie Bauern denken
Der gebürtige Basler Mathis Wackernagel ist ein scharfsinniger und nüchtermner Umweltstratege
Mittelland Zeitung, Switzerland, November 18, 2009
The Hidden Life of What We Buy
Each of these three books is an attempt to address this issue – to explore the ‘life cycle’ and ‘environmental footprint’ of the stuff we buy: one by telling us about it, one by arguing that we should be told more, and one by offering a solution.
Scoop Review of Books, New Zealand, November 17, 2009
Wir haben ein Problem

EBL, Switzerland, November 09, 2009
Securing human development in a resource-constrained world
The newsletter of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee (DAC) invited Mathis Wackernagel Ph.D., co-founder of the Ecological Footprint and President of the Global Footprint Network, to share his views on what we should be thinking about as we prepare for the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen, 7-18 December 2009.
OECD DACnews, , October 01, 2009
State of the Earth 2010
There are now 6.8 billion people on the planet. Together, we consume 1.4 Earths' worth of resources per year.
National Geographic, New York, September 01, 2009
Ecological creditors and debtors
Article by Mathis Wackernagel in United Nations Environmental Programme policy magazine discusses a new context for recognizing natural capital as a core national asset.
UNEP Environment and Poverty Times, , August 01, 2009
Boiling the Frog
Is America on its way to becoming a boiled frog? The hypothetical boiled frog is a useful metaphor for a very real problem: the difficulty of responding to disasters that creep up on you a bit at a time. And right now, both the economic and the environmental frogs are sitting still while the water gets hotter.
The New York Times, New York, July 12, 2009
La Huella de Goldfinger

Caretas, Lima, Peru, July 09, 2009
Uganda likely to lose all forest cover in 50 yrs
Uganda will lose its entire forest cover in the next 50 years if the government does not embark on immediate efforts to halt rapid deforestation. Forests and tree planting can help mitigate the effects of global warming by increasing carbon storage and cutting greenhouse gas emissions.
Reuters, Nairobi, July 09, 2009
The Happy Planet Index
We’ve written before about alternative measures to gross domestic product. These are generally attempts to take into account how happy, healthy and environmentally friendly a nation is, not just how much it produces in goods and services.
New York Times, USA, July 06, 2009
Happy Costa Ricans top global list for the good life
Costa Rica, the country of fewer than 5m people sandwiched between Panama and Nicaragua, tops a new global ranking for combining a happy and long life with limited environmental degradation.
Financial Times, London, July 04, 2009
Calculate your eco-footprint
Ahmedabad: On the occasion of World Environment Day, Gujarat Science City (GSC) organised a special game for visitors called 'Calculate your ecological footprint', in order to gauge their knowledge in the area of environmental awareness.
Daily News and Anlysis, India, June 06, 2009
Defining "Total Environmental Impact"
To live sustainably we first have to understand the many different impacts of our consumption – from energy use and CO2, to air and water pollution — and how these impacts affect the planet as whole. Being a modern day homo sapiens is complicated, but fortunately, there are several helpful scientific models that give us a way to measure our environmental impacts directly.
Greendig.net, , June 03, 2009
Wie gross ist die Welt? Wie gross sind wir?

Media Planet, Germany, June 01, 2009
Let's get real about alternative energy
We need to introduce simple arithmetic into our discussions of energy.
CNN, U.S.A., May 13, 2009
Recursos de um planeta finito

Desafios, Brasília, Brazil, April 30, 2009
A demanda e a oferta do capital natural renovável

Desafios, Brasília, Brazil, April 30, 2009
Pick hairstyle, save the world
CNN"s Josh Levs shows how to calculate your impact on the environment using an "avatar."
CNN, U.S.A. , April 25, 2009
Earth Day and the Elephant in the Room
Well, another Earth Day has come and gone. And amid all the articles and blogs, symposia and TV specials about all the things we can do to save the planet, once again it was hard to find any substantive discussion of the single biggest threat to the environment. Namely, the staggering rise in global population.
The Huffington Post, U.S., April 24, 2009
Brechenen sie ihren Fussabdruck

WWF Magazin, , April 01, 2009

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