The Abundance Site: Eco Footprints - Have we run out of planet?

Eco Footprints - Have we run out of planet?

ecofootprints An ecological footprint is the amount of land area required to sustain one human being. Globally, there are about 1.9 hectares of productive area per person, but the average ecological footprint is already 2.3 hectares. So we would need 1.5 Earths to live sustainably. The largest footprint belongs to citizens of the US, at 9.57 hectares. Five Earths would be needed if everyone consumed at that rate. People in Bangladesh, on the other hand, need just 0.5 hectares.

But what will it look like in a few decades when China has a population of 1.5 billion? Supposing that Chinese levels of consumption then are equivalent to American levels now, the Earth doesn’t stand a chance. If the US provides the benchmark for global consumption, 25 Earths will be needed to satiate everyone’s wants. So says this Adbusters ad and the Optimum Population Trust has a great deal more information on such matters that is also less that optimistic about the future.

However both these approaches focus on the problems more than the solutions and so continue to find more problems and fewer solutions. What I want to know is where does all this consumption go? Have we consumed great swathes of planet Earth and shipped it to Mars? No, we have simply turned and are turning the Earths resources into wastes that have little or no useful benefit. Are not all the resources we have consumed actually still here in some form? They have not really been consumed, rather they have been borrowed used once and then locked away again for thousands of years. Pretty foolish eh? But what the heck we’re a young species and it early days yet, after all we did the bulk of this borrowing in only the last 150 years or so. We were young and excited; look at all the great toys we’ve got now, planes, cars, spaceships, computers, yachts… Let’s not get too depressed.

So, where’s the abundance here then? Well projections have a global population rising form around 6.5 billion people to possibly a whopping 10 billion by a little as 2050; that is pretty darn abundant. 10 billion hearts and minds to find some more solutions.

An increasing number of people are aware and care about our eco-troubles. An increasing number of people are also working towards very real solutions. For example manufacturing businesses are starting to design and manufacture products following so called Cradle to Cradle eco-effective design.

So, how do you feel when you read these doomsday scenarios? Do you feel your mood or energy become a little frozen or stifled, does it suck? Absolutely, and that is because they present a future contrary to the one you want and contrary to your alignment with Source. Don’t go there, don’t buy into the gloom. What to do YOU want?

I know what I want, I want to make a difference, I want to be part of the solutions brigade. Doesn’t that feel more inspiring? Be The Difference That Makes A Difference