Living within a Fair Share Ecological Footprint
Edited by Robert Vale, Brenda Vale
Published March 27th 2013 by Routledge – 344 pages
According to many authorities the impact of humanity on the earth is already overshooting the earth’s capacity to supply humanity’s needs. This is an unsustainable position. This book does not focus on the problem but on the solution, by showing what it is like to live within a fair earth share ecological footprint.
The authors describe numerical methods used to calculate this, concentrating on low or no cost behaviour change, rather than on potentially expensive technological innovation. They show what people need to do now in regions where their current lifestyle means they are living beyond their ecological means, such as in Europe, North America and Australasia. The calculations focus on outcomes rather than on detailed discussion of the methods used. The main objective is to show that living with a reduced ecological footprint is both possible and not so very different from the way most people currently live in the west.
The book clearly demonstrates that change in behaviour now will avoid some very challenging problems in the future. The emphasis is on workable, practical and sustainable solutions based on quantified research, rather than on generalities about overall problems facing humanity.
Part 1: Introduction
1. Footprints and Fair Earth Share. Bill Rees and Jennie Moore
Part 2: What does Living within a Fair Earth Share Mean?
2.1: Personal Footprint
2. Food. James Richardson
3. Domestic Travel. Robert and Brenda Vale
4. Consumer Goods. Maggie Lawton
5. The Dwelling. Nalanie Mithraratne
6. Tourism. Abbas Mahravan
2.2: Collective Footprint
7. Infrastructure. Ning Huang
8. Government. Jeremy Gabe and Rebecca Gentry
9. Services. Soo Ryu
Part 3: Footprints in the Past
10. A Study of Wellington in the 1950s. Carmeny Field (with Brenda Vale)
Part 4: Footprints in the Present
11. A Study of China. Yuefeng Guo
12. A Study of Suburban Thailand. Sirimas Hengrasmee
13. Kampung Naga, Indonesia. Grace Pamungkas (with Brenda Vale and Fabricio Chicca)
14. A Study of Hanoi, Vietnam. Han Thuc Tran
15. A Study of Suburban New Zealand. Sumita Ghosh
16. The Hockerton Housing Project, England. Brenda and Robert Vale
17. Education for Lower Footprints. Sant Chansomsak
18. Footprints and Income. Ella Lawton
19. Sustainable Urban Form. Fabricio Chicca
Part 5: Conclusions
20. "I wouldn't start from here…" Robert and Brenda Vale
Robert and Brenda Vale are Professorial Research Fellows in the School of Architecture, Victoria University of Wellington, New Zealand. They share common research interests in ecological footprinting and sustainable building design, and are both currently working on the new Foundation for Research, Science and Technology (FRST) project to deliver ecological footprinting and systems approaches to sustainable development of communities.