6.2 KiB
| title | chunk | source | category | tags | date_saved | instance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ecological footprint | 4/4 | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_footprint | reference | science, encyclopedia | 2026-05-05T07:17:56.107504+00:00 | kb-cron |
In a 2012 study of consumers acting 'green' vs. 'brown' (where green people are "expected to have significantly lower ecological impact than 'brown' consumers"), "the research found no significant difference between the carbon footprints of green and brown consumers". A 2013 study concluded the same.
== Reviews and critiques == Early criticism was published by van den Bergh and Verbruggen in 1999, which was updated in 2014. Their colleague Fiala published similar criticism in 2008. A comprehensive review commissioned by the Directorate-General for the Environment (European Commission) was published in June 2008. The European Commission's review found the concept unique and useful for assessing progress on the EU's Resource Strategy. They also recommended further improvements in data quality, methodologies and assumptions. Blomqvist et al.. published a critical paper in 2013. It led to a reply from Rees and Wackernagel (2013), and a rejoinder by Blomqvist et al. (2013). An additional strand of critique is from Giampietro and Saltelli (2014), with a reply from Goldfinger et al., 2014, and a rejoinder by Giampietro and Saltelli (2014). A joint paper authored by the critical researchers (Giampietro and Saltelli) and proponents (various Global Footprint Network researchers) summarized the terms of the controversy in a paper published by the journal Ecological Indicators. Additional comments were offered by van den Bergh and Grazi (2015). A number of national government agencies have performed collaborative or independent research to test the reliability of the ecological footprint accounting method and its results. They have largely confirmed the accounts' results; those who reproduced the assessment generating near-identical results. Such reviews include those of Switzerland, Germany, France, Ireland, the United Arab Emirates and the European Commission. Global Footprint Network has summarized methodological limitations and criticism in a comprehensive report available on its website. Similarly, Newman (2006) has argued that the ecological footprint concept may have an anti-urban bias, as it does not consider the opportunities created by urban growth. He argues that calculating the ecological footprint for densely populated areas, such as a city or small country with a comparatively large population—e.g. New York and Singapore respectively—may lead to the perception of these populations as "parasitic". But in reality, ecological footprints just document the resource dependence of cities on rural hinterlands. Critics argue that this is a dubious characterization, since farmers in developed nations may easily consume more resources than urban inhabitants, due to transportation requirements and the unavailability of economies of scale. Furthermore, such moral conclusions seem to be an argument for autarky. But this is similar to blaming a scale for the user's dietary choices. Even if true, such criticisms do not negate the value of measuring different cities', regions', or nations' ecological footprints and comparing them. Such assessments can provide helpful insights into the success or failure of different environmental policies. Since this metric tracks biocapacity, the replacement of original ecosystems with high-productivity agricultural monocultures can lead to attributing a higher biocapacity to such regions. For example, replacing ancient woodlands or tropical forests with monoculture forests or plantations may therefore decrease the ecological footprint. Similarly if organic farming yields were lower than those of conventional methods, this could result in the former being "penalized" with a larger ecological footprint. Complementary biodiversity indicators attempt to address this. The WWF's Living Planet Report combines the footprint calculations with the Living Planet Index of biodiversity. A modified ecological footprint that takes biodiversity into account has been created for use in Australia. Ecological footprint for many years has been used by environmentalists as a way to quantify ecological degradation as it relates to an individual. Recently, there has been debate about the reliability of this method.
== See also ==
== References ==
== Further reading == Rees, W. E. and M. Wackernagel (1994) Ecological footprints and appropriated carrying capacity: Measuring the natural capital requirements of the human economy, in Jansson, A. et al. Investing in Natural Capital: The Ecological Economics Approach to Sustainability. Washington D.C.:Island Press. ISBN 1-55963-316-6 Wackernagel, M; Schulz, NB; Deumling, D; Linares, AC; Jenkins, M; Kapos, V; Monfreda, C; Loh, J; et al. (2002). "Tracking the ecological overshoot of the human economy". Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 99 (14): 9266–71. Bibcode:2002PNAS...99.9266W. doi:10.1073/pnas.142033699. PMC 123129. PMID 12089326. Lenzen, M. and Murray, S. A. 2003. The Ecological Footprint – Issues and Trends. ISA Research Paper 01-03 Chambers, N., Simmons, C. and Wackernagel, M. (2000), Sharing Nature's Interest: Ecological Footprints as an Indicator of Sustainability. Earthscan, London ISBN 1-85383-739-3 (see also http://www.ecologicalfootprint.com Archived 2019-09-05 at the Wayback Machine) Raudsepp-Hearne C, Peterson GD, Tengö M, Bennett EM, Holland T, Benessaiah K, MacDonald GM, Pfeifer L (2010). "Untangling the Environmentalist's Paradox: Why is Human Well-Being Increasing as Ecosystem Services Degrade?". BioScience. 60 (8): 576–589. Bibcode:2010BiSci..60..576R. doi:10.1525/bio.2010.60.8.4. S2CID 27270296. Ohl, B.; Wolf, S.; & Anderson, W. (2008). "A modest proposal: global rationalization of ecological footprint to eliminate ecological debt". Sustainability: Science, Practice, & Policy. 4 (1): 5–16. Bibcode:2008SSPP....4....5O. doi:10.1080/15487733.2008.11908010.
== External links ==
WWF "Living Planet Report", a biannual calculation of national and global footprints Green Score City Index Archived 2022-04-07 at the Wayback Machine, a quarterly calculation of city footprints in Canada US Environmental Footprint Factsheet Interview with Bill Rees