The ecological footprint

The ecological footprint is an indicator of the environmental impact generated by humans. Crudely, it is the effect we are producing on land based on inadequate, disrespectful and extreme exploitation of its resources.

The ecological footprint is expressed as the surface needed to produce the resources consumed by an average of a certain human community citizen, as well as the necessary to absorb the waste generated, regardless of the location of these areas.

We exploit the fields, forests, the sea... without leaving a space of time so you can regenerate itself, we do not give an only rest to land above the respect it is own economic good.

The calculation of the ecological footprint is based on the impact that makes each mode or way of life, i.e. communities of human on the planet by comparing it with its capacity.

This calculation is based on:

Certain materials and energy, as all existing products, have their origin in ecological systemsare needed to produce any product.In turn, become need ecological systems to reabsorbed waste that we have created to obtain our product or to use it.Later, fill all infrastructures that occupy the space needed for productive ecosystems.The calculation of the ecological footprint is complex and its data are often underestimated the real impact of human activity by the lack of available information.

Here, we show you the data from the calculation of the ecological footprint that took place in a study of 2003 at the global level (Semarnat, 2007)

In it you can see which activities are those more ecological footprint have generated in the population. To understand the result, keep in mind that have spoken earlier, the bases of calculation:

47.5% Burning fossil fuels22.0% agriculture7.6% wood, pulp and paper.6.7% Fishing6.3% livestock3.6% Nuclear energy3.6% urban settlements2.7% LeñaLa obtaining ecological footprint has made it possible to compare two completely different worlds under one common denominator, its impact to the environment. It allows us to see two closely related realities:

The first observation allows us to see the way of life of the rich countries of the planet can not to expand to the rest of its inhabitants.

While the second, if we talk in terms of sustainable global economy, the wealthy minority would have to reduce their consumption and their standard of living because there would be no sufficient planet that everyone lived as a well-off European citizen because of the exploitation of the resources based on the availability of fossil fuels.

That leaves us in conclusion, that the much of the developed countries ecological footprint exceeds exorbitant way its own surface, given the resources and discharges of waste extraction in places far removed from its territory.

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