title: Tracking the ecological overshoot of the human economy.
abstract: Sustainability requires living within the regenerative capacity of the biosphere. In an attempt to measure the extent to which humanity satisfies this requirement, we use existing data to translate human demand on the environment into the area required for the production of food and other goods, together with the absorption of wastes. Our accounts indicate that human demand may well have exceeded the biosphere's regenerative capacity since the 1980s. According to this preliminary and exploratory assessment, humanity's load corresponded to 70% of the capacity of the global biosphere in 1961, and grew to 120% in 1999.
authors.affiliation: Redefining Progress, 1904 Franklin Street, 6th Floor, Oakland, CA 94612, USA. wackernagel@rprogress.org
authors.forename: Mathis
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wackernagel
authors.forename: Niels B
authors.initials: NB
authors.lastname: Schulz
authors.forename: Diana
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Deumling
authors.forename: Alejandro Callejas
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Linares
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jenkins
authors.forename: Valerie
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Kapos
authors.forename: Chad
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Monfreda
authors.forename: Jonathan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Loh
authors.forename: Norman
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Myers
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Norgaard
authors.forename: Jørgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Randers
mesh_terms: D000383:Agriculture / Q000191:economics; D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D003247:Conservation of Natural Resources; D018534:Earth, Planet; D004467:Economics; D017753:Ecosystem; D005399:Fishes; D016468:Forestry / Q000191:economics; D005579:Fossil Fuels / Q000191:economics; D006798:Housing / Q000191:economics; D006801:Humans; D007221:Industry / Q000191:economics; D009678:Nuclear Energy / Q000191:economics; D012038:Regeneration; D013997:Time Factors; D014186:Transportation / Q000191:economics
chemical_list: D005579:Fossil Fuels