|
|
FOOTPRINTS ON THE EARTHby Rosalie Bertell
Either consciously or unconsciously, our generation is determining the number of futuregenerations which will be able to live on planet Earth. We determine the level of theirgenetic integrity by the level of genotoxic chemicals or radionuclides we release to thebiosphere; we determine the physical stress they will have to endure from the hazardouswaste we are leaving to be recycled to the food web; and we limit their resources by ourincreasing overconsumption and misuse of the Earth's resources. In a rapidly developing global economy, it is important to take stock of both nationaland global natural resources: How much do we have? How much do we use, and for what? Howmuch will we leave for future generations? In preparation for the Rio + 5 Conference, convened by the Earth Council in Rio deJaneiro in March 1997, a methodology was developed to assess the progress of nations sincethe Earth Summit in 1992. The resulting "Footprint of Nations" report looked at52 large nations, containing 80 percent of the world's population, and undertook abiophysical analysis of their ability to forge an ecologically sustainable future. Onedevastating finding of this analysis was that although in 1992, humanity as a whole wasconsuming over 25 percent more resources and ecoservices annually than the natural Earthhas or can generate using today's practices, this overconsumption has not ceased, but isincreasing. In spite of twenty-five years of talking about environmental crises, majorprograms to save the biosphere, world conferences and treaties, the 1997 report saw theworld community consuming 33 percent more than the global capacity. This amounts to aglobal resource deficit more serious than the global fiscal deficit, and more devastatingto future generations. The good news is that seven nations are not exceeding their national resources. Thosecountries with surplus ecological resources above those which they consume are NewZealand, Finland, Sweden, Ireland, Australia, Canada, and Chile. Another seven countriesare living at the limit of their natural resources: Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Colombia,Ethiopia, India, and Pakistan. All other major countries are running up an ecologicaldeficit, with their resource consumption exceeding their ecological capacity. In a twistof conventional thinking, all other countries are overpopulated! The bad news is that only six countries are consuming resources within their per capitashare of global resources: Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Egypt, and China. Onlytwo more are at the limit of their share of the global ecological capacity: Jordan andIndonesia. All other countries are seriously overconsuming global resources, even thoughthey might be living within the budget of those resources found within their nationalboundaries. Natural resources were not distributed homogeneously on this Earth, perhapsbecause the Creator wanted us to learn the joy of cooperative sharing and the socialjustice and peace it brings! The top ten overconsuming countries globally are (in highest to lowest order) Iceland,New Zealand, United States, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Finland, Japan, RussianFederation, and Sweden. It is time for a strong, well-thought-out plan to preserve the planet Earth.Intuitively, we understand that sustainability requires a decent standard of living, andalso equitable living and sharing within the means of nature. Having insufficient naturalresources and lacking a decent and equitable standard of living will generate new resourcewars, further degrading our already-scarce resources and tearing apart the social fabricof the global village. People are a part of nature, and they need a steady supply of thebasic requirements of life: quality food and water, housing, energy for climatemodification and mobility, fibers for clothing, furniture, and paper products, ecologicalsinks for waste, and life-support services like bathing and space for living. Efficiency in resource use should be the first strategy in reducing the ecologicalfootprint. Wasting resources does not have to be part of a good standard of living, sothis should be the first place of cutting! Efficiency alone will not, however, reduceoverconsumption to within the Earth's carrying capacity. According to Ernst Ulrich vonWeizsacker, president of the Wuppertal Institute for Climate, Environment and Energy, afactor-of-four reduction of ecological loads per unit of service delivered by industrycould be attained on a worldwide scale, using existing energy-saving technologies, by theyear 2040. However, global predictions also estimate that the global population will reach10 billion by the year 2030, and available global ecological capacity will be reduced to 1hectare per capita, from the current level of 1.7 to 1.8. What then are the prospects and obstacles for increasing the productive capacity ofEarth's resources, reducing ecological-resource consumption per capita, and reversingthose activities which are destroying ecological resources at an ever-increasing rate? Canwe find ways of achieving greater eco-efficiency and eco-sufficiency? If I had to name asector of consumption which the global community could easily eliminate without anotherthought, it would be the military, whose resource consumption is staggering. Why do weneed a military? It has become a parasite on civilization. The proverbial question,"Guns or butter?" may reach its ultimate resolution in our generation. If we look at the five nuclear powers, we find that the nuclear legacy has not onlyconsumed scarce resources but also massively polluted the land and sea, undermined health,doubled the rate of damaged genes in the human gene pool, and seriously reduced resourceproductivity over vast stretches of land and sea. Should nuclear weapons be used, life aswe know it would cease. Because of its dependence on the civilian economy, the militaryboth lies about the lethal nature of its inventions and tries to create commercial usesfor them. Militarism has become a self-destructive, all-encompassing addiction for some ofour fellow humans, and the rest of us are passive cooperators with that addiction. Rousingourselves from that cooperative lethargy is our first priority for disentangling ourselvesfrom the seduction! Money and social approval must be withdrawn from these enterprises,and our focus must change to conserving the planet Earth and securing its viability. Constructive ways exist to focus human creativity on areas where we can make a positiveimpact. Why not originate an international competition on how to achieve an acceptablequality of life using only 1.7 hectares of ecological resources per capita? Why notundertake local assessments of ecological footprints within countries, and see what bestachieves ecological balance? The energy and transportation sectors, in particular, offeralmost limitless opportunities for greater efficiency and productivity. Every business, municipality, and household can help affect the global ecologicalbalance -- we just need a new way of thinking about consumption! Urban planning mustinclude all the land on which the urban population depends for support. Countries nowstruggling to reduce their financial deficits need to awaken to the consumption problem,which will inevitably lead to a global ecological collapse much more devastating than afinancial collapse. It is overconsumption which is forcing global poverty, as nations witha negative natural-resource balance plunder others in order to fulfill their wants. Use of the footprint methodology provides a clear and easily understood way to explainsome of these concepts and the idea of sustainability to people who are unaware of theirprecarious position with respect to the collapse of nature. It is also a convenient toolfor measuring progress and providing accessible information, and an important educationalresource which can be used to bring about positive changes, especially in outlawing warand developing a spirit of cooperation and care for the global commons. It is a struggle we share with some of the most wonderful and creative people who haveever lived on this Earth. We are not alone. I, along with many, find in prayer a way tocontact wisdom and strength. Certainly our Creator did not make the Earth to become a deadwasteland! She has given us abundant life and we must cherish and protect it, and pass iton intact to the next generation. It is my belief that life is indeed stronger than death,and this enables me to continue the struggle.
|
|
