Resources to support Chapter 4

Sharing Nature's Interest

Nicky Chambers * Craig Simmons * Mathis Wackernagel

ecologicalfootprint.com home page

1. Redefining Progress
2. Indicating Progress
3. Footprinting Foundations
4. Footprinting Fundamentals
5. From Activities to Impacts
6. 20 Questions about Footprinting
7. Global  and National Footprints
8. Regional Footprinting
9. The Impacts of Organizations & Services
10. Footprinting for Product Assessment
11. Footprinting Lifestyles
12. Next Steps

Chapter 4:Links & Resources

Online Carbon Calculators 
http://www.climatechangelevy.com
http:/www.bestfootforward.com/carbonlife.htm

Worldwatch Institute
http://www.worldwatch.org

American Wind Energy Association
http://www.awea.org

Best Foot Forward
http://www.bestfootforward.com

Redefining Progress
http://www.rprogress.org

mail the authors with your own suggested useful links for Chapter 4

Chapter 4 Summary

Ecological footprint analysis aims to overcome some of the problems of estimating sustainable capacity by turning the key question on its head.

Rather than asking ‘How many people can the earth support?’, footprinting asks ‘How much land do people require to support themselves?’ In other words, footprinting addresses not the number of heads but the size of the feet.

In addition, footprinting tries to address biophysical constraints. It does this by comparing our impact on the environment with the capacity of the biosphere to regenerate. The problem can be expressed in terms of human ‘load’ on the planet – the area of bioproductive land appropriated by a person (though we later show how footprint analysis can be applied to products, activities, organizations and regions). 

This chapter introduces the basic accounting techniques used in ecological footprint analysis.