Our ecological footprint by mathis wackernagel, 97808657123, available at book depository with free delivery worldwide. Wackernagel and rees, 1996 and climatological vulnerability, whereas on the other. An excellent handbook for community activists, planners. Mathis wackernagel author of our ecological footprint. Mathis wackernagel is president of the global footprint network and cocreator of the ecological footprint. Wackernagel m rees w 1996 our ecological footprint. By contrast, this article argues that ecological carrying capacity remains the fundamental basis for demographic accounting. In 1996, wackernagel and rees published the book our ecological footprint.
We define regional sustainability as the continuous support of human quality of life within a regions ecological carrying capacity. It shows how the ecological footprint is calculated, and how it can be used to calculate the footprint of individuals, cities, countries, and. A fundamental question for ecological economics is whether remaining stocks of. Rees book on ecological footprint analysis, our ecological footprint coauthored with then phd student dr mathis wackernagel, was published in 1996 and is now available in english, chinese, french, german, hungarian, italian, japanese, latvian, and spanish. He has promoted sustainability on six continents and lectured at more than 100 universities. Oops, an error occurred catalog home colorado mountain. Reducing human impact on the earth new catalyst bioregional series paperback jan. Wackernagel m rees w 1996 our ecological footprint reducing. Transportation use in world cities in 1980 newman and kenworthy, 1989 form of transport toronto u.
William e rees presents a comprehensive analysis of the ecological resources and technologies required for sustaining households, communites, regions, and nations. Our ecological footprint presents an exciting new approach to this problem, using productive land area rather than dollars or abstract ecopoints as its currency. Pdf an overview on ecological footprint and sustainable. Mathis wackernagel is a swissborn sustainability advocate. Together, wackernagel and rees wrote our ecological footprint 1996, which describes the concept. Nov 01, 1994 the seminal work on ecological footprinting, our ecological footprint is a great starter on the concept and how ecological footprint analysis can help us move towards a more sustainable future.
Cities australian cities european cities asian cities annual car use per capita 9850 km 12507 km 10680 km 5595 km 1799 km. Lessening the footprint of built urban environments presentation by dr. Introduction the ecological footprint ef concept, introduced by rees and wackernagel e. Much of rees work is in the realm of ecological economics and human ecology. A macat analysis of mathis wackernagel and william reess our ecological footprint. Since its introduction the ecological footprint has been used by a.
The state of the art in ecological footprint theory and applications. Our ecological footprint by mathis wackernagel and william rees 1996. The ecological footprint is one attempt at developing a biophysicallybased ecological economics, which approximates reality better than many economic expansionist models. Perhaps next year, our footprints will be the major topic of discussion in our media.
The ecological footprint concept is a good way to conceptualize ones consumption of the earths resources, but. The simplest way to define ecological footprint is the amount of the environment necessary to produce the goods and services necessary to support a particular lifestyle. Wackernagel and rees 1996 then published the book our ecological footprint. New society publishers, jul 1, 1998 nature 176 pages. Ecological footprint analysis ef estimates the resource consumption and waste assimilation requirements of a defined human population or economy in.
This book describes the ecological footprint, a biocapacity accounting tool created by one of the authors, mathis wackernagel, and william rees, his phd supervisor. Samir amin is director of the third world forum in dakar, senegal. Conceived in 1990 by mathis wackernagel and william rees at the university of british columbia, the ecological footprint launched the broader footprint movement, including the carbon footprint, and is now widely used by scientists, businesses, governments, individuals, and institutions working to monitor ecological resource use and advance. In early 1996, wackernagel and rees published the book our ecological footprint. Reducing human impact on the earth mathis wackernagel and william rees published by new society publishers, 1996 the ef is a helpful concept useful for teaching, that shows how humans are over exploiting nature and. Wackernagel and rees 1996 lessening the footprint of built. Canadian ecologist william rees created the ef concept, which swiss urban planner mathis wackernagel further developed in his dissertation under reess supervision. Pdf ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity. Wackernagel m rees w 1996 our ecological footprint reducing human impact on the from regionales 001 at national pedagogical university.
Rees new society publishers, 1996 nature 160 pages. Mathis wackernagel is currently the executive director of global footprint network, and william rees is the chair of the school of urban planning and regional development at the university of british columbia. Ecological footprint an overview sciencedirect topics. Professor of geography and the environment wackernagel and rees 1996 like an ecosystem, the planet has a finite carrying capacity. Mathis wackernagel is cocreator of the ecological footprint and president of global footprint network. Ecological footprint analysis compares human demands on nature with the biospheres ability to regenerate resources and provide services. What wackernagel and rees proposed was a method capable of making global.
Building on human carrying capacity debate 15 in the early 1990s, mathis wackernagel and william rees introduced a new environmental accounting method, the ecological footprint 6, 7, to. The ecological footprint is an areabased indicator which quantifies the intensity of human resource use and waste discharge. What wackernagel and rees proposed was a method capable of making. Why cities cannot be sustainableand why they are a key to sustainability william rees and mathis wackernagel keywords. In their book dating from 1996 and recently re printed, mathis wackernagel and william rees present the ecological footprint as a general measure for. Wackernagel is a visiting professor at cornell university. Calculation, verification, certification and labeling of the carbon footprint. A macat analysis of mathis wackernagel and william rees s our ecological footprint. To achieve regional sustainability, one must first assess the current situation. He is currently president of global footprint network, an international sustainability think tank with offices in oakland, california. An excellent handbook for community activists, planners, teachers, students and policy makers.
Our ecological footprint estimates that the netherlands ecological footprint is about fifteen times the countrys land area. Book recommendations, author interviews, editors picks, and more. Our ecological footprint presents an internationallyacclaimed tool for measuring and visualizing the resources required to sustain our households, communities, regions and nations, converting the seemingly complex concepts of carrying capacity, resourceuse, wastedisposal and the like into a graphic form that everyone can grasp and use. Conventional wisdom suggests that because of technology and trade, human carrying capacity is infinitely expandable and therefore virtually irrelevant to demography and development planning. Simply stated, we are living beyond our biophysical means. Ecological footprint modern wiki fandom powered by wikia. Reducing human impact on the earth audible audio edition. Reducing human impact on the earth mathis wackernagel, william e. Reducing human impact on the earth mathis wackernagel,william e. To make the idea more accessible, rees came up with the term ecological footprint, inspired by a computer technician who praised his new computers small footprint on the desk. The papers presented in this book deal with three main topics theory. An earlier version of this article appeared in pambazuka news, july 23, 2009, 443 1.
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