carrying capacity
As present, humans would need two more planets like Earth to sustain
current rates of growth and consumption. We are living beyond the carrying
capacity of the earth.
However, at least one poll indicates that humans believe they ought
to be allotted only 20 per cent of the bio-productive land and sea for
their use, and that 80 per cent should be left wild for the other 25
million species.
ecological footprint
An ecological footprint is related to carrying capacity. It estimates
the total productive land area required to support the consumption and
waste requirements of an individual or community.
Calculating an ecological footprint means taking into account all resources
extracted, every item consumed and everything thrown away.
Click here to estimate your individual
ecological footprint.
environmental stewardship
A steward is entrusted with the management of someone else’s property.
Environmental stewardship means managing the earth's resources (which
do not really belong to us) carefully and with their long-term integrity
at heart.
healthy riversheds
If health is a state of balance free of disease and unencumbered by
injury, a state where the body is able to replenish its energy and maintain
equilibrium in its interactions with the world, then a healthy rivershed
is a place where the Earth’s capacity to regenerate or to sustain
life is not unduly impaired. It is a place where human activity has
zero net impact – that is, a place where human presence is not
reinforced by mechanization and indifference. It represents a sustainable
ecological footprint for each community member.
sustainable communities
In 1987, the World Commission on Environment and Development defined
sustainability (or sustainable development) as “development which
meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future
generations to meet their own needs”. Supporting this definition
is an ethic of care and respect for the biosphere and all living things,
a recognition that nature has limits, and the knowledge that we have
no choice but to live within those limits.
A sustainable community is one whose economic activities do not outstrip
the carrying capacity of the rivershed where it resides. It measures
progress according to quality of life indicators, not gross domestic
product (GDP) alone.
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