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SPECIAL FOCUS:

THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT OF YOUTH AROUND THE WORLD

Spring 2010Vol. XXII No.1

IN THIS ISSUE:

Available in English,Ukrainian/Russian, Chineseand Spanish

SPECIAL FOCUS:

The Ecological Footprint of Youth Around the World

HEALTH ANDENVIRONMENT:

UNEP briefing onChemical/WasteConventions MeetingNCDs on the Global Health Agenda

Did You Know Good NewsChornobyl Update:

46th Munich Security Conference: A year of Daunting Challenges Americans are exposed to seven times moreradiation from diagnosticscans than in 1980

More Good NewsMore Did You Know VoicesPoint-Counterpoint:

ElectromagneticRadiation in Cell Phones – Beneficial for Human Health?

15679101011121316

As youth ace the prospect o catastrophic resource depletion, it is critical they main-tain a healthy ecological ootprint. With all the ocus on carbon ootprint, we are orget-ting that our ecological ootprint is equally important. Encompassing carbon ootprint,ecological ootprint is a primary driver or youth coping with a planet in ecologicaldebt. Accordingly, today’s youth will discover that ecological capital will determine eco-nomic wealth.

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT, BIO CAPACITY, AND DEBT VS. SURPLUS

Simply stated, an ecological ootprint is how much we have, how much we use and who’s using what. It measures a country’s or an individual’s resource demand with bi-ological capacity. Biocapacity is the measurement o land productivity. Biocapacity ismeasured in global hectares.

Average world ecological footprint: 2.7

Measured in gha (global hectare)

TOP 10 COUNTRIES

UAE 9.4USA 9.4Kuwait 8.9Denmark 8.0 Australia 7.8New Zealand 7.7Canada 7.1Norway 6.9Estonia 6.4Ireland 6.3

Source:

Worldmapper.org

GLOBAL ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS

The map above is the current ecological footprints of nations. When referring to the ecological footprint of youth we must predict that footprint based on current trends. That means the ecologi-cal footprint of youth in China and India is expected to get exponentially larger than pictured here.

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An ecological ootprint is dierent rom a carbonootprint in that it acts as a balance sheet comparingecological assets to debts: assets being resources; debtsbeing consumption. While a carbon ootprint is usedto measure CO

emissions, an ecological ootprint, notonly measures CO

emissions, but also provides system-atic land accounting or all the earth’s renewable andnon-renewable resources. Ecological ootprints also al-low us to estimate the number o earths needed to sus-tain the world’s population at that level o consumption.Non-renewable resources are oil, coal, natural gasbecause once consumed, these resources cannot be re-placed. Renewable resources are those replaced by natu-ral processes at a rate comparable or aster than its rateo consumption by humans. Solar radiation, tides andhydropower ,and winds are perpetual resources that arein no danger o a lack o long-term availability.Some natural renewable resources must be careullymanaged to avoid exceeding the world’s capacity to re-plenish them. These include geothermal power, resh water, timber and biomass, algae, marine lie, animalsand ertile soil.Ecological ootprints also help us determine whichcountries have ecological debts vs. ecological surplus. A country with an ecological debt has used too many o itsassets, and must depend on resources rom outside itsown borders or consumption. Countries with ecologi-cal surplus have extra resources that are unnecessary ortheir citizens. These countries are increasingly scarce.Since the mid 1980’s society has exceeded its ecologi-cal budget. 80% o the world’s population lives in coun-tries with an ecological decit. Humanity’s demand onnatural resources exceeds planetary limits. Gauging theecological ootprint o youth around the world is criticalto our uture because it lets us know when their resourc-es will run out.

DIFFERENT LESSONS

Kids in rich countries are oten told to eat all the oodon their plate because there are starving children in the world. This “trick” to get developed world children toeat more reveals the root o the problem: overconsump-tion. The “trick” taught the wrong lesson, that it is okayto waste as long as we consume that waste – or try to,beore we discard it. Consequently, this lesson not onlymade us at (actually morbidly obese), but also did noth-ing to help the hungry kids in Arica.The average Arican’s ecological ootprint is 1.4gha, while the global average ootprint is 2.1 gha. In compar-ison to the rest o the world, this is small, actually toosmall. For many in Arica, their ecological ootprint istoo small to meet basic ood, shelter, health and sanita-tion needs. Arica has many countries rich in natural resources,but most Aricans do not have access to them. Resourceexploitation by industrialized countries with ecologi-cal decits, along with extreme poverty and confict iscausing Arica’s citizens to live at an ecological decit Adding to the problem is Arica’s booming population. Arica’s youth (ages 5- 20) are expected to have a popula-tion o 1.9 billion by 2035. That will only shrink Arica’sbiocapacity even urther.In a new global trend, countries and businesses arebuying the direct rights to another country’s biocapacityrather thatn purchasing the exports produced by thatcountry. China, or example, has leased 2.8 million hec-tares in the Congo or the rights to its palm oil produc-tion. This is to ensure continued access to ood, biouelcrops and other resources or China. What about Ari-can youth who desperately need these resources?It has become very clear: we can no longer teach ourkids to stu themselves while children in Arica remainhungry. We can no longer burn through our own re-sources and expect the weak and vulnerable to supplyour insatiable appetites. I we continue to pass this les-

Source:

United Nations Populations Program

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son on to our youth, the planet will simply run out o resources. Today’s youth are entering a much dierent world than that o previous generations. This new worldo resource scarcity requires new lessons.

YOUTH’S SHIFTING

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Young people will see a shit in which nations, re-sponsible or consuming the most resources, will havethe largest ecological ootprint. Until recently, the Unit-ed States was responsible or having the largest ecologi-cal ootprint. This has already shited. The United ArabEmirates (UAE), with an ecological ootprint o 9.4 gha,now has the largest ecological ootprint per capita. This will be a growing trend among developing countries.For the youth in developed nations like the UnitedStates and the countries o the European Union, theirecological ootprints are not expected to rise much.Since they are already industrialized, additional con-sumption o resources is not required in development. Also, populations are expected to stay consistent leavingthese youth with an ecological ootprint comparable toadults today.This comes as relie considering that America aloneconsumes 30 percent o the world’s resources with only5 percent o the population. Also, it would take 5.1 plan-ets to sustain human lie, i everyone consumed as manyresources as Americans.Unortunately, any relie brought by youth in theUnited States and EU maintaining a consistent ecologi-cal ootprint, is wiped out by the industrialization o developing countries, like China and India. Our youth willlive in a world where, i trends continue, the typical Chi-nese will out consume the typical American by 2040; In-dian consumption will surpass American consumptionby 2080. These countries will also have enormous popu-lations. The combined population o China and India,alone, is expected to exceed 3 billion.The ecological ootprint o China is 2.1, but Chinahas not yet ully industrialized. Nor has India with anecological ootprint o 0.8. Our youth will live in a world where China and India are ully industrialized and livingthe same standards as today’s typical Americans. Along with increases in population and consumption, the eco-logical ootprint o Chinese and Indians is expected togrow exponentially. This does not add up. I Americansused 30 percent o the world’s resources with a popu-lation o roughly 300 million, what will happen when 3billion people are using the same amount o resources?I we continue to teach our youth the same lessons andcurrent trends continue, catastrophic resource deple-tion is the only oreseeable outcome. Although, longtime industrialized regions like theUnited States and the EU have gotten us to this pointo ecological crisis, it is developing nations that will ulti-mately tip the world over the edge. With the rise o the global economy more and moredeveloping countries are putting a toll, equal to theirpredecessors’ on the planet. Surpassing the UnitedStates, the UAE is now responsible or having the largestecological ootprint on the planet (what’s interesting isthat while the United States never signed the Kyoto Pro-tocol, the UAE has. In 2005, when the UAE ratied theKyoto Protocol, it was classed as a ‘non-annex I’ coun-try or developing nation, despite having a high GDP. Although the UAE has the largest ecological ootprintand is one o the highest producers o carbon emissionsin the world, it is under no obligation to reduce its pol-lution). The UAE’s economy is built rom cheap extrac-tion o natural resources, just like America. The UAEthen took their newound wealth, bought SUVs, builtindoor ski elds, and turned up their ACs, thus imitat-ing Americans.Our youth cannot embrace this old system, while developing in a new world o scarce resources. We cannotbuild economies and countries on old methods. Youngpeople either recognize this or, imitating America onceagain, they go or broke.

GOING FOR BROKE

America became an industrial power at the end o the19th century and then quickly rose to the top throughcheap extraction o natural resources. Ater the U.S.liquidated its own ecological assets they decided to getmore. From other countries, like Arica, the U.S. bor-rowed ecological assets on credit. Ater the resources areextracted, they are taken back to the States. Products areproduced with those resources, sold to the consumerand lots o money is made to pay back the ecologicaldebt. What’s wrong with that method is, you can’t payo an ecological debt with cash. We are spending what we cannot aord. The last time the U.S. did this, the en-tire world suered.

2007 Populations:

(millions)1. China 1,3182. India 1,132 3. U.S. 302 4. Indonesia 232 5. Brazil 1896. Pakistan 1697. Bangladesh 1498. Nigeria 1449. Russia 142 10. Japan 128

2050 Projected:

(millions)1. India 1,747 2. China 1,437 3. U.S. 4204. Indonesia 297 5. Pakistan 295 6. Nigeria 282 7. Brazil 2608. Bangladesh 2319. Rep. Congo 14410. Philippines 150