News Archive

• Don't fix the economy - change it
  The financial crisis has brought into sharp focus the need to fundamentally change, not merely repair or rebuild, our economy. Because, quite simply, sticking with an economic model that is driving toward ecological catastrophe will kill us. (more...)
  Toronto Star, Toronto, December 26, 2008
• Want to Shrink Your Carbon Footprint? Think Food.
  As I adjusted, I thought there was at least one upside. My new lifestyle would be more benign for the planet. Surely, by not driving and by living in a much smaller space, I had significantly reduced my ecological footprint, a measurement of how much of the earth's resources each of the world's 6.6 billion people are using. (more...)
  Washington Post, Washington D.C., November 29, 2008
• Making Our Mark- Ecological Footprints
  Ecological footprints are being used to measure our impact on Earth and the results aren't good. We humans have been changing the face of our planet for thousands of years, clearing forests, damming rivers, draining swamps, ploughing the paddocks, building cities and freeways, creating the world we know. (more...)
  Australian Academy of Science, Canberra, December 08, 2008
• No Bailout for Over-Drawing Nature
  It is encouraging that Obama pointed to our "planet in peril" during his speech at Grant Park. Obama also must recognize that sustainability is at the core of any long-term financial recovery. (more...)
  San Francisco Chronicle, San Francisco, November 17, 2008
• Earth 'On Course for Eco-Crunch'
  The planet is headed for an ecological "credit crunch", according to a report issued by conservation groups. The document contends that our demands on natural resources overreach what the Earth can sustain by almost a third. The Living Planet Report is the work of WWF, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network. (more...)
  BBC News, London, October 29, 2008
• World Threatened by Ecological 'Credit Crunch': WWF
  Reckless borrowing against Earth's exhausted bounty is driving the planet toward an ecological "credit crunch", the World Wildlife Fund warned on Wednesday. Growing demands on natural capital -- such as forests, water, soil, air and biodiversity -- already outstrip the world's capacity to renew these resources by a third, according to the WWF's Living Planet Report. (more...)
  AFP, Paris, October 28, 2008
• An Ecological Deficit
  Worldwide human activity so far this year has exhausted the resources the planet can renew, absorb or cleanse in a year, according to the California-based Global Footprint Network. The group said the mark was overshot by the second half of September through activities such as timber harvesting, fishing and carbon emission. (more...)
  Washington Post, Washington, D.C., October 02, 2008
• Just like Wall St., the Earth is overdrawn (two weeks ahead of '07)
  Just like AIG and a collection of Wall Street luminaries, we, as planetary citizens, are 140% overdrawn today. This means that if we measured all the resources that Mother Earth starts to produce on January 1st— such as oxygen, food, medicine, drinking water, forests, mineral ores, energy resources and acceptable climate,— well before Halloween is upon us, we are overdrawn, using more resources than have been generated. (more...)
  Marketplace from American Public Media, USA, September 23, 2008
• China using up natural resources fast: report
  China is drawing on natural resources such as farm land, timber and water twice as fast as they can be renewed in its drive for development, a report from Chinese and international environmentalists said. (more...)
  ABC News, USA, June 10, 2008
• Africa fast running down resources
  Many African countries are rapidly running down their natural resources as growing populations push the continent towards its ecological limits, the conservation organization WWF said on Monday. (more...)
  Reuters, Geneva, June 09, 2008
• In California, Building a Town With a Gentle Footprint
  An ecological footprint is a way of quantifying human impact on the earth. The originator of the concept, environmentalist Mathis Wackernagel, sees it as a way to help average people wrap their brains around an overwhelming amount of data. (more...)
  Washington Post, Washington, D.C., May 03, 2008
• IS LOCAL ALWAYS BETTER?
  From start to finish — from planting seeds to disposing scraps — the food sector accounts for roughly 25 percent of an American’s ecological footprint, according to Susan Burns, a managing director at the Global Footprint Network in Oakland, Calif. (more...)
  New York Times, New York, April 20, 2008
• On Language: Footprint
  “The word footprint has taken on meaning,” writes Michel Berger of Oakland, Calif., responding to a recent query in this space, “beyond that of simple circumstantial evidence that someone has walked by... (more...)
  New York Times, New York, February 17, 2008
• How to Save the Planet? It's the Economy, Stupid
  The ecological budget – on which all life, and consequently the human economy, depends – is already in dramatic deficit, and balancing it should be a high priority for nations around the world, even as the financial meltdown seizes headlines. (more...)
  The National, UAE, December 16, 2008
• World Watching for UAE Progress on Green Initiatives
  The world is watching how effective the United Arab Emirates will be in overcoming the challenge of having one of the worst ecological footprints, construction industry executives were told today (Monday 24 November 2008). (more...)
  Zawya, Dubai, November 24, 2008
• Calling All Teachers
  When it came to dreaming up an environmental project last year, Grade 4 teacher Megan Liddell didn't want to start yet another litterless lunch program. (more...)
  Calgary Herald, Calgary, November 21, 2008
• Humans Make Black Mark With Ecological Footprint
  Look at what we get from the natural systems around the world – supplying food, keeping the growing world working, reducing the effect of weather on our lives and even helping to keep us happy. (more...)
  Southern Reporter, Scotland, November 20, 2008
• Wales Pledge to Use Only Fair Share of Resources
  Wales today pledged to become a "one planet nation" and use only its fair share of the world's resources. (more...)
  News Wales, Wales, November 19, 2008
• Green Challenge Tougher Than Economic Crisis
  Environmentalists can draw lessons from the global financial crisis to deal with the looming ecological credit crunch, says Chief Emeka Anyoaku, the president of the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) International. (more...)
  The Sunday Independent, South Africa, November 16, 2008
• Got A Spare Earth Anywhere?
  If the world continues to pillage and plunder Earth's natural resources at the rate we are now, by 2030 we will need two planets to support us. If everyone on Earth consumed the equivalent resources of Canadians, it would take three Earths to meet the demand. (more...)
  Toronto Sun, Toronto, November 15, 2008
• Country Scores Poorly in Global Eco Report
  Based on energy consumption levels, the Czech Republic leaves behind the biggest “ecological footprint” in Central Europe, according to a new report. (more...)
  The Prague Post, Prague, November 12, 2008
• Southern Cities 'Are More Green'
  The Forum For The Future think-tank has rated British cities by air quality, green spaces and quality of life in order to judge the 20 most sustainable ones. (more...)
  The Telegraph, London, November 10, 2008
• Saving the Planet Through Regulations
  The WWF's Living Planet Report 2008 saw the UAE retain its top spot in the ecological footprint per capita table. Developers are certainly willing to talk of going green, but will the financial crisis see them less able? (more...)
  Arabian Business, UAE, November 08, 2008
• Czechs Rank Among World's Biggest Polluters
  A study published by the World Wildlife Fund ranks the Czech Republic 14th on a list of states whose consumption levels outstrip environmental renewal. (more...)
  Radio Praha, Prague, November 03, 2008
• WWF Study: Chile Has Small "Ecological Footprint"
  Chile is among the top five Latin American countries to have a favorable balance between the natural resources it consumes and the ones it produces, according to the 2008 Living Planet Report by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF). (more...)
  The Santiago Times, Santiago, November 04, 2008
• Global Footprint Network Reports: Africa, India, China
  Earlier this year, NNC attended a Global Footprint Network event at Swissnex to celebrate the completion of their recent Global Footprint Africa report. Since then, they have completed a global footprint report on China and, collaborating with the Confederation of Indian Industry, released a business perspective report on India’s Ecological Footprint. (more...)
  Next Now Collaboratory, California, November 01, 2008
• Two Planets For Greed
  As early as 1726, satirist Jonathan Swift had pointed to the pressure of meeting human demands on the environment in what is arguably his best work, Gulliver’s Travels. Nearly three centuries later, the problem has intensified. (more...)
  Mint, New Delhi, October 31, 2008
• Global Trade Contributes to Natural Resource Overdraft, Pollution
  Two new reports by environmental groups highlight the burden human consumption is putting on global natural resources and the pollution legacy left behind. Both reports stress that industrialised countries with high consumption levels directly draw on resources and pollute the environment in developing countries through their imports. (more...)
  International Centre for Trade and Sustainable Development, Geneva, October 31, 2008
• Wales Warned Over "Ecological Credit Crunch"
  Welsh citizens have an ecological footprint three and a half times greater than their African counterparts, according to a new report. (more...)
  WalesOnline, Wales, October 30, 2008
• Clarion Call: Focus on Ecological Footprint
  Each person in the UAE requires an average of 9.5 global hectares (gha) to sustain current rates of consumption and carbon emissions, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) for Nature’s 2008 Living Planet Report said. (more...)
  XPress, Dubai, October 30, 2008
• Second Planet Needed By 2030, Says WWF
  While at first glance SA does not look like a major culprit, with an “ecological footprint” per citizen below the global average, that is largely because the country’s poor consume so little, said WWF SA CEO Morné du Plessis. (more...)
  Business Day, Cape Town, October 30, 2008
• Global Footprint Co-Publishes Living Planet Report 2008
  Skoll social entreprenuer Global Footprint Network has just co-published, along with the World Wildlife Fund and the Zoological Society of London, the Living Planet Report 2008 (PDF). (more...)
  Skoll Foundation, California, October 29, 2008
• Conservationists Warn of Ecological Credit Crunch
  The report is simple and stark. Our demands on natural resources overreach what the Earth can sustain by almost a third. (more...)
  Voice of America, London, October 29, 2008
• Another World
  It’s just as well that India has sent something to the moon, and that Mars is being scrutinized for water, for in little more than a couple of decades, human beings will need another earth, with all its resources, to sustain themselves. (more...)
  The Telegraph, Calcutta, October 30, 2008
• UAE Tops League of Wasteful Countries
  A global report compiled with the help of the Government has ranked the UAE as the worst in the world for its per capita environmental footprint. (more...)
  The National, UAE, October 30, 2008
• Kiwis Sixth Among Worst Enviro-Guzzlers
  If the rest of the world gobbled up resources at the same rate as Kiwis, the equivalent of three-and-a-half extra planets would be needed just to keep pace. (more...)
  The Dominion Post, Fairfax, New Zealand, October 30, 2008
• Humanity Has Moved to 'Ecological Deficit': WWF Report
  Global demand for energy, water and other natural resources is pushing humanity towards an "ecological credit crunch" with Canadians among the biggest culprits, warns a new international report to be released Wednesday. (more...)
  Canada.com, Ottawa, October 28, 2008
• WWF Ranks Australia Fifth Worst for Environmental Performance
  Despite growing awareness about the environment and a push towards greener living, Australians now use more water and land per person than most other countries in the world, the WWF Living Planet Report 2008 shows. (more...)
  Herald Sun, Melbourne, Australia, October 29, 2008
• Global Footprint Network Measures India's Sustainability
  India has reached a stage where it now requires two Indias to meet the resource and waste absorption requirements of its citizens, according to new research from Global Footprint Network, a 2007 recipient of the Skoll Award for Social Entrepreneurship. (more...)
  Skoll Foundation, California, October 17, 2008
• Fast Growing India Faces Ecological Crunch
  As the world grapples with the escalating effects of the financial crisis, ecologists are pointing to another mounting – and unsecured – debt: a growing gap in India between the amount of natural resources the country uses and how much it has. (more...)
  People and the Planet, London, October 15, 2008
• India Now Consumes Two Indias
  India's consumption of natural resources is now almost double of what the country's land, air and water can provide, an overshoot equivalent to what has led to the current global economic meltdown, says a report released here on Monday. (more...)
  India's Economic Times, Haryana, India, October 13, 2008
• Crisis Leads To Ecological Crossroads
  The current financial crisis presents an opportunity to re-examine the strain on natural resources, according to a Swiss expert. Environmental economist Mathis Wackernagel tells swissinfo that it is time to rethink the concept of continuous growth. (more...)
  Swissinfo, Bern, Switzerland, October 13, 2008
• 98 Months, And Counting
  Demand on nature's services is exceeding supply. Taking a typical calendar year, the date at which humanity goes into the environmental red has been creeping ever forward. Comparing like with like (the data sources and methodology are continually being improved), this year the world ran into ecological debt on September 23, five days earlier than last year. (more...)
  The Guardian, London, October 01, 2008
• Planet in Debt at Earliest Day Ever
  The world slides into 'ecological debt' today, having used up all the natural resources the planet can provide this year, according to the New Economics Foundation. (more...)
  The Metro U.K., London, September 23, 2008
• September 23 is Earth Overshoot Day
  On September 23, humanity will have used up all the resources nature will provide this year, according to data from Global Footprint Network, a research organization that measures how much nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what. (more...)
  AME Info, Dubai, September 24, 2008
• World Consumption Exceeds Resources After Today
  On Sept. 23 -- two weeks earlier than last year -- the world will have consumed all the natural resources the Earth will provide for this 12-month calendar year. (more...)
  The Daily Green, USA, September 22, 2008
• The Business of Saving the Earth
  Sometime in mid-September, our species will blast through “Earth Overshoot Day,” the date when we will have consumed all of the natural goods and services, from fish to trees, that our planet takes twelve months to produce. For the remainder of 2008, we will live off the dwindling stock of earlier years’ production. (more...)
  The Walrus Magazine, Toronto, Canada, September 23, 2008
• Overshooting the Earth
  Most of us are familiar with Earth Day, the annual celebration on April 22, held to promote protection of the planet's environment. Much less well known is Earth Overshoot Day, a tradition started in 1986 to mark the moment each year when human consumption goes into global deficit. (more...)
  Sonoma News, California, September 22, 2008
• Finn's Ecological Footprint Third-Largest in the World
  The Finnish Environment Institute (Syke) said Tuesday that it backed Global Footprint Network figures dating back to 2006 according to which Finns´ average ecological footprint was the third-largest in the world and the largest in the EU. (more...)
  STT Finland, Helsinki, September 23, 2008
• 'Earth Overshoot Day' to Mark Overuse of Resources
  Green groups will stage "Earth Overshoot Day" on Tuesday to draw attention to estimates that people are gobbling up 40 percent more in resources than the planet can currently replenish. (more...)
  AFP, Paris, September 22, 2008
• Nature's Budget 'Has Run Out'
  The world has slid into "ecological debt", having used up all the natural resources the planet can provide this year, according to the New Economics Foundation. (more...)
  The Press Association, UK, September 22, 2008
• Consumption Patterns Need to Change to Cope With Growing Cities
  Urban areas are spreading, minimising the time and distances between and in-and-out of cities. The International Planning Congress in Dalian, China, addressed this ‘urban sprawl’ and sought ways to achieve sustainable urbanisation. (more...)
  European Environment Agency, Copenhagen, September 20, 2008
• Growing Footprints
  Two recent reports from the Global Footprint Network provide striking evidence of the global overshoot in both population and consumption, which threatens to overwhelm our planet by eating up its natural capital while frying what is left of habitable land in excessive atmospheric heat. (more...)
  People and the Planet, London, September 20, 2008
• A Future of Less
  Miller-McCune magazine exclusive: Here's how government can help curb America's seemingly endless appetite for "more." (more...)
  Miller-McCune, Washington, D.C., August 15, 2008
• Africa Faces Rising Ecological Deficit
  In June, WWF International released Africa – ecological footprint and human well-being, a report commissioned by the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation and prepared by the Global Footprint Network. (more...)
  Ecological Society of America, Washington, D.C., August 01, 2008
• Welsh Ecological Footprint Grows as We Prosper
  Wales’ most deprived areas are using fewer natural resources than any other part of the UK, according to new research. (more...)
  WalesOnline, Wales, May 28, 2008
• UAE Research Team Attends International Workshop on Ecological Footprint
  A UAE research team representing the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative has attended an international workshop on the Ecological Footprint at the Global Footprint Network office in Oakland, California. (more...)
  UAE Interact, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, May 28, 2008
• Awash in Eco Dilemmas
  The footprint is a way of representing a given population's impact on the environment. Humans are using the Earth's resources and dumping waste 23 per cent faster than nature is able to regenerate, according to the Global Footprint Network, a non-profit group in Oakland, Calif. (more...)
  The Gazette, Montreal, April 22, 2008
• Interview: EU Running 'Enormous Risk' of Resource Crunch
  With EU citizens using more than twice the resources available within European boundaries, there is a risk of 'serious hardship' from ecological overshoot, Mathis Wackernagel of the Global Footprint Network told EurActiv in an interview. (more...)
  EurActiv, EU, April 21, 2008
• Ecological Footprints
  The euractiv.com website this week carried an interview with Mathis Wackernagel, director of the Global Footprint Network, which is an organisation "committed to fostering a world where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives within the means of Earth's ecological capacity". (more...)
  Cambridge Network, Cambridge, UK, April 25, 2008
• Bin Fahad Urges Concerted Efforts to Ensure Al Basama Al Beeiya Objectives are Achieved
  UAE's Minister of Environment and Water, H.E Rashid Ahmad Bin Fahad, who chaired the second meeting of the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) steering committee held last Thursday, has urged full cooperation from all federal ministries and the public and private sector, in order to contribute effectively to the Initiative's objectives. (more...)
  AME Info, Dubai, April 23, 2008
• Gloom About How we Consume
  Queenslanders are driving twice as far, guzzling more energy and our farms and mines are degrading our landscape, the latest snapshot of the state's environment has found. In fact, if the rest of the world consumed resources like the average Queenslander, then we would need four planets to cope with demand. (more...)
  CourierMail, Queensland, Australia, April 12, 2008
• Dubai to Join Earth Hour 'Blackout'
  The UAE has the world’s largest ecological footprint, meaning it consumes the most natural resources per capita, according to a 2004 report by the conservation group WWF that measures the environmental sustainability of a state. (more...)
  The Daily Times, Lahore, Pakistan, March 24, 2008
• Ecological Sustainability 'Will Help Sustainability Drive'
  Abu Dhabi: The UAE launched a national project called the Al Basama Al Beeiya (Ecological Footprint) Initiative last October to chart the ecological challenges facing the nation. (more...)
  Gulf News, Dubai, March 08, 2008
• UK Unable to Sustain Population, Says Study
  The UK has no hope of living sustainably unless every person's "ecological footprint" is reduced by more than 70 per cent, the study for the Optimum Population Trust (OPT) claims. (more...)
  The Telegraph, London, February 26, 2008
• Researchers Say Tracking Ecological Footprint is Critical
  York University researchers are leading the push to assess the ecological footprint as an indicator of environmental health and sustainability in Canada. (more...)
  Y File, Toronto, February 08, 2008
• 'Green' Curriculum to Sprout in 21 Beit Shemesh Schools
  Sviva Israel is kicking off an ambitious environmental education curriculum Wednesday in 21 schools in Beit Shemesh. The project, the first of its kind to be run citywide in Israel, will introduce students in secular and religious schools to their "ecological footprint" - that is, how much of the earth's resources you need to maintain your lifestyle. (more...)
  The Jerusalem Post, Jerusalem, January 29, 2008
• Economic Growth at Cost of Ecological Systems
  In 2005 the Millennium Ecosystem Assessment made it clear that nearly two thirds of ecosystem services have been degraded or are being used unsustainably, and indicators like the Ecological Footprint have demonstrated that human society has been living beyond its means since 1987. (more...)
  The New Nation, Dhaka, Bangladesh, January 28, 2008
• The Role of DE in Reducing the Impact of Energy Use - An Ecological Footprint Perspective
  Here, Alessandro Galli and Justin Kitzes consider the possible impact of using decentralized energy (DE) for energy footprint reduction. (more...)
  COSPP, Essex, UK, January 22, 2008
• World's "Greenest City"
  Recently, the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) and the government of Abu Dhabi launched a "sustainability strategy" to create the "world's greenest city." (more...)
  Inquirer, Makati City, Philippines, January 16, 2008
• Planet Green Announces New Series That Looks at Household Eco-Horrors and Turns Energy and Waste Savings Into Cash
  The WA$TED! crew is armed with a series of tested and proven methods, tools and materials to help with the audits, including an internationally recognized eco-calculator built especially for this series with input from the Global Footprint Network, one of the world's most respected organizations that developed the Ecological Footprint, a measurement and management tool for realizing the planet's limits. (more...)
  EarthTimes, USA, December 11, 2007
• Food, Fuel and Fiber? The Challenge of Using the Earth to Grow Energy
  
  WorldChanging, USA, December 22, 2008
• Sub-subprime
  With living costs in cities rising sharply, planetary stability depends on improving the lives of slum dwellers and reducing carbon, fecal and other footprints associated with city life. (more...)
  The Economist, London, November 24, 2008
• Bailout (and Buildup)
  “Is the economic crisis going to be the end of green?” asks David Rothkopf, energy consultant and author of “Superclass.” “Or, could green be the way to end the economic crisis?” It has to be the latter. We can’t afford a financial bailout that also isn’t a green buildup — a buildup of a new clean energy industry that strengthens America and helps the planet. (more...)
  New York Times, New York, October 21, 2008
• Ecuador chooses rain forest over oil
  Ecuador has become the first country to float plans to abandon any thought of harvesting the oil in its rain forests in exchange for compensation. Wealthy industrialized countries have been calling on poorer countries to adopt such a stance as part of the battle against climate change. (more...)
  Der Spiegel, , November 20, 2008
• `We blew it' on global food, says Bill Clinton
  Former President Clinton told a U.N. gathering Thursday that the global food crisis shows "we all blew it, including me," by treating food crops "like color TVs" instead of as a vital commodity for the world's poor. (more...)
  Associated Press, , October 23, 2008
• Running Out of Planet to Exploit
  Nine years ago The Economist ran a big story on oil, which was then selling for $10 a barrel. The magazine warned that this might not last. Instead, it suggested, oil might well fall to $5 a barrel. (more...)
  New York Times, New York, April 21, 2008
• New Limits to Growth Revive Malthusian Fears
  Now and then across the centuries, powerful voices have warned that human activity would overwhelm the earth's resources. ... Today the old fears are back. (more...)
  Wall Street Journal, New York, March 24, 2008
• DEVELOPMENT: Food, Fuel and Water Crises Converging
  A spectre is haunting the cities and villages of most developing nations, warns a senior official of a World Bank-affiliated organisation. "It's the spectre of a food, fuel and water crisis," says Lars Thunell, executive vice president of the Washington-based International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank group. (more...)
  IPS, Stockholm, August 22, 2008
• Uprising Against the Ethanol Mandate
  The ethanol industry, until recently a golden child that got favorable treatment from Washington, is facing a critical decision on its future. Gov. Rick Perry of Texas is asking the Environmental Protection Agency to temporarily waive regulations requiring the oil industry to blend ever-increasing amounts of ethanol into gasoline. (more...)
  New York Times, New York, July 23, 2008

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