Blog

WWF Report: ‘Humanity’s demands exceed our planet’s capacity to sustain us’

Kenneth Hill | 15.10.10

"Populations of tropical species are plummeting and humanity’s demands on natural resources are sky-rocketing to 50 per cent more than the earth can sustain, new analysis in the 2010 edition of WWF’s Living Planet Report – the leading survey of the planet’s health ­– reveals."

So starts an announcement from WWF on the release of its biennial report on the state of our planet. The upshot assessment that in 2007, 1.5 Earths would have been needed to accommodate humanity's resource demands, is mind-blowing. The report estimates that by 2036, two Earths would be needed at the current rates of consumption.

The UK ranks 31st on the highest resource users in the report's table of Ecological Footprint per country, per person. The top 5 are UAE, Quatar, Denmark, Belgium, and the US.

Denmark's ranking seems somewhat incongruous with the way most people think about Denmark (progressive, environmentally conscious). The Copenhagen Post outlines the reasons why they are failing -- pork production and consumption being a main indicator. l

There is an enormous amount of interesting and useful information in the report. I like this link at WWF, which leads you into some of the publication's most compelling stuff, including interactive tools where you can look up different countries and species.

Importantly, there are links to things all of us can do about it.

Living Planet Report 2010

 

Eco Media Environment | Share +
wwf, living planet report

WWF Earth Hour

Richard Lemmer | 30.03.12

Tomorrow, you may notice a big difference down your street. With a little luck, this difference will occur between 20:30 and 21:30. That’s because it is the fifth annual Earth Hour, a project organised by the WWF that sees lights up and down the country being switched off to save C02 and remind people of the importance of saving energy. All you have to do is flick a switch to take part.

But you can always make a night of it. If you are in London, check out the band Guillemots performing a candle lit gig - unplugged, of course - in the old Victorian warehouse of the Village Underground. Also, take a stroll along the darkened south bank and watch as Waterloo Bridge, London Bridge, the London Eye, St Paul’s and the Shard stop flickering for an hour. If you’re not in the Big Smoke tomorrow, check out the WWF Earth Hour website to see what is happening in your area - there are candle lit acoustic gigs in Wales, darkened castles in Scotland and restaurants up and down the country are hosting sustainable dinner. But if you don’t feel like going out, WWF suggests you jumpy on the dinner party bandwagon and host a candlelit evening with good friends and good food.

Even though the project revolves around one dark hour on a Saturday evening, WWF hopes it will switch people on to the larger changes that are needed. Greenhouse PR spoke to Rachel Bloodworth, senior communications manager, about the need to find an easy and enjoyable way to engage people on the bigger issue of climate change. “The main misunderstanding is that Earth Hour is about saving energy for one hour - it’s so much more than that,” Rachel told us. “Some might feel that an hour is not going to make a difference - which is why we talk so much about going ‘beyond the hour.’ By having a symbolic moment in time to work up to, we are able to give the campaign momentum and attract media attention. We have taken the strategy of a positive topline message so the event feels like something you to be part of, but then we use our website, emails and Facebook to talk more in depth about the issues.”

It is a somewhat risky strategy. Could consumers switch off after Earth Hour? “The event is growing rapidly year on year but it is still relatively new to people in the UK,” Rachel says. “Earth Hour started as a message calling on world leaders for a global deal to tackle climate change. Now it's an ongoing and ever growing community of people across the world who care about the environment and sustainability.”

A cheap and easy way to take part in the green movement? Or a small stunt that enlightens people for a limited amount of time? It seems Earth Hour may need more than hour to prove itself.

Earth Hour - Our World Is Brilliant from WWF-UK on Vimeo.

Eco Media | Share +
earth hour, energy, wwf, lights