Ecological footprint
Main article: Ecological footprint
The ecological footprint is a measure of human demand on the Earth's ecosystems. It compares human demand with planet Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate. It represents the amount of biologically productive land and sea area needed to regenerate the resources a human population consumes and to absorb and render harmless the corresponding waste.
According to a 2005 Global Footprint Network report,[7] while inhabitants of high-income countries live off of 6.4 global hectares (gHa), while those from low-income countries live off of a single gHa. For example, while each inhabitant of Bangladesh lives off of what they produce from 0.56 gHa, a North American requires 12.5 gHa. Each inhabitant of North America uses 22.3 times as much land as a Bangladeshi. Of the 12.5 hectares used by the North American, 5.5 is located in the United States, and the rest is found in foreign countries.[7] According to the same report, the average number of global hectares per person was 2.1, while current consumption levels have reached 2.7 hectares per person.
In order for the world's population to attain the living standards typical of European countries, the resources of between three and eight planet Earths would be required. In order for world economic equality to be achieved with the current available resources, rich countries would have to reduce their standard of living through degrowth. The eventual reduction of all available resources would lead to a forced reduction in consumption. Controlled reduction of consumption would reduce the trauma of this change.
Degrowth - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - 0 views
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Degrowth and Sustainable Development Degrowth thought is in opposition to all forms of productivist economics. It is, thus, also opposed to sustainable development. While the concern for sustainability does not contradict degrowth, sustainable development is rooted in mainstream development ideas that aim to increase capitalist growth and consumption. Degrowth therefore sees sustainable development as an oxymoron[8], as any development based on growth in a finite and environmentally stressed world is seen as inherently unsustainable. Since current levels of consumption exceed the Earth's ability to regenerate these resources, economic growth will lead to their exhaustion. Those in favor of sustainable development argue that continued economic growth is possible if consumption of energy and resources is reduced. Furthermore, growth-based development has been shown to be more effective in expanding social inequality, concentrating wealth in the hands of a few, than in actually generating more wealth and increasing living standards[9][10]. Critics of degrowth argue that a slowing of economic growth would result in increased unemployment and increase poverty. Many who understand the devastating environmental consequences of growth still advocate for economic growth in the South, even if not in the North. But, a slowing of economic growth would fail to deliver the benefits of degrowth—self-sufficiency, material responsibility—and would indeed lead to decreased employment. Rather, degrowth proponents advocate for a complete abandonment of the current (growth) economic system, suggesting that relocalizating and abandoning the global economy in the Global South would allow people of the South to become more self-sufficient and would end the overconsumption and exploitation of Southern resources by the North
Afghanistan :: Education and Health -- Encyclopedia - Britannica Online Ency... - 0 views
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Afghanistan's 1964 constitution provided for free and compulsory education at all levels, but this changed when the Taliban gained control in 1996.
Promoting Sustainable Agriculture - 0 views
Munsch admits to cocaine, alcohol addiction - The Globe and Mail - 0 views
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For more than 30 years, Robert Munsch has fascinated young readers with his unique stories that have made his books staples of any child’s library. But it is his latest story, one of admission to cocaine and alcohol addictions, that has become the most shocking and captivating one, a story not intended for his young “Munschkin” fans. In a message titled “Note to Parents” posted on his website, the bestselling author admits he's been diagnosed as obsessive-compulsive and manic-depressive. “Those challenges have led me to make some big mistakes,” Mr. Munsch says, without providing further details. But in an interview with Global Television aired Saturday, Mr. Munsch admitted he is a recovering cocaine addict and alcoholic, adding he has been clean for about four months. In his note to parents, Mr. Munsch, 64, wrote that his mental health and addiction problems are not a secret to his friends and family.
Bears - 1 views
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Three bear species do not live in cold climates. These tropical bears are the spectacled bear, sun bear and sloth bear. These bear species do not sleep for long parts of the year like their cold-weather cousins.
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Sun bear; Borneo and other parts of Southeast Asia (endangered)
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Spectacled bear; tropical South America (endangered)
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