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Dr. Mathis Wackernagel and His Ecological Footprint Concept
Keynote Speaker at OSN Conference March 12, 2004 in Norman
Mathis Wackernagel, Ph.D. is the Founder and Executive Director of the Ecological Footprint Network (www.ecofoot.net), an organization which advances rigorous natural capital accounts to make sustainability requirements measurable and relevant. Mathis has worked on sustainability issues for organizations in Europe, Latin America, North America and Australia. He has lectured for community groups, government agencies, NGOs, and academic audiences at more than 100 universities on 5 continents.
Mathis has authored or contributed to over two dozen academic articles and co-authored various books on sustainability that focus on the question of embracing limits and developing metrics for sustainability, including Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth, Sharing Nature's Interest, and WWF International's Living Planet Report.
After earning a degree in mechanical engineering from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, he completed his Ph.D. in community and regional planning at The University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. There he developed, under Professor William Rees, the "Ecological Footprint" concept as his doctoral dissertation, now a widely used measure of sustainability. Mathis is also an adjunct faculty at SAGE of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and the Scientific Advisor of the Centre for Sustainability Studies in Veracruz, Mexico.
Dr. Wackernagel is scheduled as the keynote speaker at the Oklahoma Sustainability Conference to be held March 12 in Norman. (Click here for conference details.) It will be Dr. Wackernagel's second trip to Oklahoma, as he presented the keynote address for the 2001 OKAEE EE Expo in Tulsa. His footprint concept is now utilized extensively throughout the world to calculate impacts on our natural resources by individuals, communities, industries, and even conferences. An internet search will provide a huge menu of information on a variety of uses of the footprint measurement created by Dr. Wackernagel. Following is a brief summary of the concept.
The ecological footprint simply put measures human impact on nature. In order to live, people consume what nature offers, so every one of us has an impact on the planet with every choice that we make. This is not bad as long as we don't take more from the Earth than it has to offer. But are we taking more than we should? The ecological footprint measures what we consume of nature. It shows how much we use to produce all the resources we consume and to handle all the waste we make.
The average American uses 25 acres to support his or her current lifestyle. This corresponds to the size of 25 football fields (one football field is equal to one acre) put together. In comparison, the average Canadian lives on a footprint 25 per cent less and the average Italian on 60 per cent less.
Nature provides an average of 5.5 acres of bioproductive space for every person in the world. With a global population of 10 billion predicted for the year 2050, the available space will be reduced to 3 acres. This should also give room for the 25 million other species. Already, humanity's footprint may be over 30 per cent larger than what the world has to offer as it consumes more than what nature can provide.
What can we do? We can become part of the sustainability movement and make it possible that everybody can secure their quality of life within the means of nature. Also, we can better use resources, for example, by using energy-efficient lamps or by composting and recycling.
And, we can certainly manage to decrease our consumption. Your shopping choices can really make a difference. Purchasing locally grown, organic food from Bob Waldrop's local food cooperative can reduce your footprint substantially. Drop-off locations for pre-ordered food are provided once a month in Oklahoma City (2 locations), Edmond, Norman, Tulsa, Enid/Waynoka, and Tahlequah. To find out more, go to: www.oklahomafood.org.
Calculate your own ecological footprint on the web. A rough estimate of your footprint can be calculated at: www.myfootprint.org, This calculator will tell you how many Earth's would be necessary if everyone on the planet lived the same lifestyle as you. If you would like a more detailed household footprint, you can download an Excel spreadsheet for more detailed consumption categories, including recycling, energy use, and even how much coffee you drink. Go to: www.rprogress.org for this advanced footprint calculator.
For further information go to: www.ecofoot.net
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