Receive our new Ecological Footprint DVD with your donation of $100 or more. Preview film.   Donate Online (secure)   Mail-in Donation Form     About the Global Footprint Network   Our mission is to promote a sustainable economy by advancing the Ecological Footprint, a measurement tool that makes the reality of planetary limits central to decision-makers.   Learn More   Tell a Friend   Subscribe     Advisory Council   E.O. Wilson Manfred Max-Neef Rhodri Morgan Wangari Maathai David Suzuki Emil Salim Julia Marton-Lefèvre William E. Rees Lester Brown Jorgen Randers M S Swaminathan Daniel Pauly Eric Garcetti Ernst Ulrich von Weizsäcker Michael Meacher Karl-Henrik Robèrt Will Steffen Dominique Voynet Fabio Feldman Oscar Arias Herman E. Daly Peter Raven Mick Bourke Dear friends and colleagues;   We are writing to ask for your support for Global Footprint Network's new "Ten In Ten Campaign" - our worldwide initiative to make the Ecological Footprint as prominent as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), and by 2015 to have ten countries managing their ecological wealth in the same way they manage their finances.   In our vision, the Ecological Footprint will be one of the dominant metrics used by governments all around the world. It will support each country in finding ways to operate within planetary limits. It will be canonized and institutionalized, in the same way as the GDP, and will be used to develop new policies that protect ecological assets, and invest in ecosystem restoration.   We believe that countries with ecological reserves will be deemed the new wealthy.   José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission   Since the launch of our Ten In Ten Campaign in January 2005, we have made significant inroads throughout Europe. Just last month, with WWF, we launched Europe 2005: The Ecological Footprint, marking the first time Europe has ever tracked and studied its ecological spending. The report won the endorsement of José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission. In analyzing 25 European nations - home to 453 million citizens - the report concluded that currently Europe needs two and a half Europes to sustain its natural resource demand. The report provides a vital framework that can be used to ensure Europe's long-term prosperity.   To build on our early successes, we are reaching out to people like you who share our vision. We need your support to take advantage of the momentum we've generated.   As part of the Ten in Ten Campaign, we've identified 22 countries that are the most likely early adopters, countries like - Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, South Africa, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom. As we see it, these nations are the trailblazers, and we are working closely with each of them to encourage the others.   Each of these nations are making unique strides and offer genuine openings for Footprinting. Here are just a few examples: In Australia, officials at EPA Victoria are in direct communication with the head of Canada's Minister of Environment, emphasizing the value of the Footprint tool, sharing stories and success. In Switzerland's new constitution, article 73 includes specific language on planetary limits and balance. It reads, "The Confederation and the Cantons shall strive to establish a durable equilibrium between nature and its capacity for renewal, on the one hand, and its use by humans, on the other." Officials in Brazil, Colombia, and Mexico successfully pushed for the Ecological Footprint to be included as an indicator in the global Convention on Biological Diversity. Collectively these 22 nations are home to over 2 billion people and countless non-human species. Just imagine if we could bring them all into balance.   Admittedly, this is a bold vision and with our small staff and limited resources, we have had to truly focus. However since launching the Ten In Ten Campaign, we have created unprecedented opportunities for change.   Now we need your help. We need additional resources to engage decision makers in government institutions and to support our research staff in constantly, diligently improving the data, the science, and the methodology that drives the success of the Ecological Footprint.   Reports like Europe 2005: The Ecological Footprint have real impact: The report was distributed to 400 European Parliamentarians and is being used to inform a larger European Union effort to craft a sustainable development strategy. In the coming months, Global Footprint Network will consult key parliamentarians. We will engage high-level administrators. We will make pointed progress towards our goal - Ten In Ten - starting in the European Union. Then, later this fall, we will release an in-depth Ecological Footprint report, commissioned by the European Environment Agency. This is the first time an international government agency has ever co-sponsored national Footprint accounts. This report will continue to strengthen the interest that is taking root in the region, and it will continue to open new doors.   Any contribution you make today to the Ten In Ten Campaign will be used to capitalize on these European opportunities. Your support will serve as a call to action for others. It will demonstrate how individuals can help bring the earth back into balance.   We are not the only ones that recognize the opportunities. Just last week, the US Society for Ecological Economics presented me and the Global Footprint Network the Herman Daly Award, the second of these Prizes ever to be handed out. This is in celebration of the success the Footprint has had in the US and around the world in calling attention to the importance of ecological limits.   We believe that institutionalizing the Ecological Footprint is a critical step in making sustainable development happen. We are relying on people like you, people who share our vision for a sustainable future, to join us.   For a limited time, with a gift of one hundred dollars or more you will receive a copy of our newly released DVD, The Ecological Footprint: Accounting for a Small Planet. Simply click here to make a secure donation on-line today or print a contribution form and mail your gift today! If you would like to make a wire transfer, or make a donation of stock, just contact us at accounting@footprintnetwork.org - we're happy to help with the arrangements.   Please take a minute to donate whatever amount you can afford and become one of the Ten In Ten Campaign's founding supporters.   Thank you. Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D. Executive Director