The Global Footprint Network has developed an interesting new tool that will help pave the way for a sustainable economy, "The Ecological Footprint", a resource management tool that measures how much land and water area a human population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its wastes under prevailing technology. This technology is valuable as it provides a tangible tool for people and companies to take collective actions in support of a sustainable future. As the Global Footprint Network explains,
"As long as our governments and business leaders do not know how much of nature’s capacity we use or how resource use compares to existing stocks, overshoot may go undetected – increasing the ecological deficit and reducing nature’s capacity to meet society’s needs.
The Ecological Footprint is a resource accounting tool used to address underlying sustainability questions. It measures the extent to which humanity is using nature’s resources faster than they can regenerate. It illustrates who uses how much of which ecological resources, with populations defined either geographically or socially. And, it shows to what extent humans dominate the biosphere at the expense of wild species.
The Ecological Footprint clarifies the relationship of resource use to equity by explicitly tying individuals’ and groups’ activities to ecological demands. These connections help decision makers more accurately and equitably shape policy in support of social and environmental justice."
Click here to measure your Ecological Footprint
