Ecological Footprint


Book Description

The only metric that tracks how much nature we have – and how much nature we use Ecological Footprint accounting, first introduced in the 1990s and continuously developed, continues to be the only metric that compares overall human demand on nature with what our planet can renew — its biocapacity — and distils this into one number: how many Earths we use. Our economy is running a Bernie Madoff-style Ponzi scheme with the planet. We use future resources to run the present, using more than Earth can replenish. Like any such scheme, this works for a limited time, followed by a crash. Avoiding ecological bankruptcy requires rigorous resource accounting — a challenging task, but doable with the right tools. Ecological Footprint provides a complete introduction, covering: Footprint and biocapacity accounting Data and key findings for nations Worldwide examples including businesses, cities, and countries Strategies for creating regenerative economies Whether you’re a student, business leader, future-oriented city planner, economist, or have an abiding interest in humanity’s future, Footprint and biocapacity are key parameters to be reckoned with and Ecological Footprint is your essential guide. AWARDS SILVER | 2020 Eric Zencey Prize SILVER | 2019 Nautilus Book Awards: Ecology & Environment FINALIST | 2019 Foreword INDIES: Ecology & Environment




Ecological Footprints


Book Description

"In the present scenario of global climate change, ecological footprint analysis is necessary for the development of more sustainable and environmentally friendly ways of living. This book includes five chapters that explore various aspects of ecological footprint analysis. Chapter One provides a platform that relates and compares principles oriented towards reducing environmental urban impacts through the analysis of urban form and empirical knowledge about the applicability of ecological footprint as a tool for urban planning and design. Chapter Two focuses on the societal need to keep cities livable and sustainable through appropriate waste management. Chapter Three illustrates how city authorities and residents can better understand their rate of dependence upon and impact on the environment at various scales, realize their vulnerability to overseas environmental changes, and suggest local action or policy guidelines that may increase their urban sustainability. Chapter Four explores means for reducing the lifecycle ecological footprint of residential buildings. Finally, Chapter Five includes an ecological footprint analysis of jatropha biodiesel production at low scale"--




Our Ecological Footprint


Book Description

Our Ecological Footprint presents an internationally-acclaimed tool for measuring and visualizing the resources required to sustain our households, communities, regions and nations, converting the seemingly complex concepts of carrying capacity, resource-use, waste-disposal and the like into a graphic form that everyone can grasp and use. An excellent handbook for community activists, planners, teachers, students and policy makers.




Living within a Fair Share Ecological Footprint


Book Description

According to many authorities the impact of humanity on the earth is already overshooting the earth’s capacity to supply humanity’s needs. This is an unsustainable position. This book does not focus on the problem but on the solution, by showing what it is like to live within a fair earth share ecological footprint. The authors describe numerical methods used to calculate this, concentrating on low or no cost behaviour change, rather than on potentially expensive technological innovation. They show what people need to do now in regions where their current lifestyle means they are living beyond their ecological means, such as in Europe, North America and Australasia. The calculations focus on outcomes rather than on detailed discussion of the methods used. The main objective is to show that living with a reduced ecological footprint is both possible and not so very different from the way most people currently live in the west. The book clearly demonstrates that change in behaviour now will avoid some very challenging problems in the future. The emphasis is on workable, practical and sustainable solutions based on quantified research, rather than on generalities about overall problems facing humanity.




Assessment of Ecological Footprints


Book Description

This book highlights the concepts and assessment methods of Ecological Footprints. Ecological footprint is defined as, ”a measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices”. Developed in 1992 by William Rees, it was the first footprint developed followed by other footprints such as Carbon, Water and Energy. Assessment of Ecological footprints strive for comparing consumption footprint to biological capacity. This book presents five interesting chapters pertaining to the assessment of Ecological Footprints.




My Footprints


Book Description

Every child feels different in some way, but Thuy feels "double different." She is Vietnamese American and she has two moms. Thuy walks home one winter afternoon, angry and lonely after a bully's taunts. Then a bird catches her attention and sets Thuy on an imaginary exploration. What if she could fly away like a bird? What if she could sprint like a deer, or roar like a bear? Mimicking the footprints of each creature in the snow, she makes her way home to the arms of her moms. Together, the three of them imagine beautiful and powerful creatures who always have courage - just like Thuy.




Agroecological Footprints Management for Sustainable Food System


Book Description

Agroecological footprints are a unique and popular concept for sustainable food system. Measuring and keeping a tab on the agroecological footprints of various human activities has gained remarkable interest in the past decade. From a range of human activities, food production and agriculture are most essential as well as extremely dependent on the agroecosystems. It is therefore crucial to understand the interaction of agroecosystem constituents with the extensive agricultural practices. The environmental impact measured in terms of agroecological footprints for a healthy for the sustainable food system. The editors critically examine the status of agroecological footprints and how it can be maintained within sustainable limits. Drawing upon research and examples from around the world, the book is offering an up-to-date account, and insight into how agroecology can be implemented as a solution in the form of eco-friendly practices that would boost up the production, curbs the environmental impacts, improves the bio-capacity, and reduces the agroecological footprints. It further discusses the changing status of the agroecological footprints and the growth of other footprint tools and types, such as land, water, carbon, nitrogen, etc. This book will be of interest to teachers, researchers, government planners, climate change scientists, capacity builders, and policymakers. Also, the book serves as additional reading material for undergraduate and graduate students of agriculture, agroforestry, agroecology, soil science, and environmental sciences. National and international agricultural scientists, policymakers will also find this to be useful to achieve the ‘Sustainable Development Goals’.




World Regional and Cultural Footprints and Environmental Sustainability


Book Description

The book examines the issues of sustainability in general. It addresses various socioeconomic determinants of ecological footprints in different world’s nations, regions, and cultures. Major socioeconomic determinants of ecological footprints are fleshed out using Comparative Model Analysis and rigorous Multiple Regression Analysis. The study exposes the inequitable distribution of the world’s ecological footprints and also heightens the concern about ecological imbalances and overshoots. It explains how sustainable development can be promoted and achieved in regional, national, and local jurisdictions. The study provides information that will likely help various governments and policy-makers determine if a given nation, region, or culture is on a sustainable path. It helps government leaders, planners, policy-makers, and even students of sustainability make a difference in mitigating the effects of various environmental stressors. If this book makes people and policy-makers in different countries, regions, and cultures think globally but act locally, then the objectives are well-served.




Human Footprints: Fossilised Locomotion?


Book Description

Human footprints provide some of the most emotive and tangible evidence of our ancestors. They provide evidence of stature, presence, behaviour and in the case of early hominin footprints, evidence with respect to the evolution of human gait and foot anatomy. While human footprint sites are rare in the geological record the number of sites around the World has increased in recent years, along with the analytical tools available for their study. The aim of this book is to provide a definitive review of these recent developments with specific reference to the increased availability of three-dimensional digital elevation models of human tracks at many key sites. The book is divided into eight chapters. Following an introduction the second chapter reviews modern field methods in human ichnology focusing on the development of new analytical tools. The third chapter then reviews the major footprint sites around the World including details on several unpublished examples. Chapters then follow on the role of geology in the formation and preservation of tracks, on the inferences that can be made from human tracks and the final chapter explores the application of this work to forensic science. Audience: This volume will be of interest to researchers and students across a wide range of disciplines – sedimentology, archaeology, forensics and palaeoanthropology.




The Human Footprint


Book Description

The Human Footprint: A Global Environmental History, Second Edition, presents a multidisciplinary global history of Earth from its origins to the present day. Provides a comprehensive, global, multidisciplinary history of the planet from its earliest origins to the present era Draws on the most recent research in geology, climatology, evolutionary biology, archaeology, anthropology, history, demography and the social and physical sciences Features the latest research findings on planetary history, human evolution, the green agricultural revolution, climate change, global warming and the nature of world/human history interdependencies Offers in-depth analyses of topics relating to human evolution, agriculture, population growth, urbanization, manufacturing, consumption, industrialization, and fossil fuel dependency.