Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budget - Softcover

Beyers, Bert; Wackernagel, Mathis

Softcover

ISBN 10: 086571911X ISBN 13: 9780865719118

Publisher: New Society Publishers, 2019

Synopsis

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

About this title

About the Authors

Mathis Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and president of Global Footprint Network. Recipient of numerous awards, he has lectured at more than a hundred universities and is author or contributor to over one hundred peer-reviewed papers, articles, reports, and books including the bestselling Our Ecological Footprint. He lives in Oakland, California.

Bert Beyers is an author and journalist with a passion for exploring humanity’s future and its ecological context. He is a senior editor at one of Germany’s largest radio stations in Hamburg.

Born and raised in Germany, Katharina Rout received her PhD from the University of Münster. After moving to Canada, she became a professor of English literature at Vancouver Island University in Nanaimo, BC, and a translator of literary and academic prose from German to English.

From the Back Cover

The only metric that tracks how much nature we have – and how much nature we use

This book is a loud wake-up call to everyone.
― CHRISTIANA FIGUERES, former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC

Looking for a science-based, practical tool to navigate your future on Earth? Here it is.
― PROF. JOHAN ROCKSTRÖM, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

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 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.

Ecological Footprint provides a complete introduction, covering:

• Footprint and biocapacity accounting
• Data and key findings for countries
• 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.

A momentous development, and one that all citizens of the planet should know about.
― RICHARD HEINBERG, author, The End of Growth and Peak Everything

Reveals both our alarming self-inflicted situation and the way forward.
― THOMAS E. LOVEJOY, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Institute for a Sustainable Earth, George Mason University

Mathis Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and president of Global Footprint Network, based in Oakland, California. www.footprintnetwork.org.

Bert Beyers is a senior editor at one of Germany's largest radio stations, located in Hamburg.

From the Inside Flap

The only metric that tracks how much nature we have - and how much nature we use

This book is a loud wake-up call to everyone.
-- CHRISTIANA FIGUERES, former Executive Secretary, UNFCCC

Looking for a science-based, practical tool to navigate your future on Earth? Here it is.
-- PROF. JOHAN ROCKSTRÖM, Director, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research

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 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.

Ecological Footprint provides a complete introduction, covering:

• Footprint and biocapacity accounting
• Data and key findings for countries
• 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.

A momentous development, and one that all citizens of the planet should know about.
-- RICHARD HEINBERG, author, The End of Growth and Peak Everything

Reveals both our alarming self-inflicted situation and the way forward.
-- THOMAS E. LOVEJOY, Professor of Environmental Science and Policy, Institute for a Sustainable Earth, George Mason University

Mathis Wackernagel is co-creator of the Ecological Footprint and president of Global Footprint Network, based in Oakland, California. www.footprintnetwork.org.

Bert Beyers is a senior editor at one of Germany's largest radio stations, located in Hamburg.

Edition details

• Publisher: New Society Publishers
• Publication date: 2019
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 086571911X
• ISBN 13: 9780865719118
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 288