How Much Nature Do They Use? How Much Nature Do They Have?

1904 Franklin Street 6th Floor • Oakland, CA 94612 • voice.510.444.3041 • fax.510.444.3191 • [email protected] • www.RedefiningProgress.org This Ecological Footprints of Nations 2002 issue brief reports on the ecological impact of 146 nations. These countries include nearly 100 percent of the world’s population. The issue brief shows to what extent a nation’s resource consumption can be supported by its ecological capacity. It also illustrates the degree to which a nation could reproduce its consumption at a global level. These accounts document that humanity exceeds the Earth’s biological capacity by 20 percent. Many nations, including the United States, are running larger ecological deficits. In spite of technological advances, an increasing human population with a growing appetite for resources continues to exacerbate the global ecological deficit. As a consequence of this overuse, the human economy is liquidating the Earth’s natural capital. After introducing the rationale and assessment method for these ecological accounts, this report explains how this analysis can help to build a sustainable future. HOW MUCH NATURE DO THEY USE? HOW MUCH NATURE DO THEY HAVE?