Report claims humans will need two earths by 2050

[Victor.L3IchibanM3]

BEIJING - Humans are stripping nature at an unprecedented rate and will need two planets' worth of natural resources every year by 2050 if current trends continue, according to a report published Tuesday by the World Wildlife Fund and the Global Footprint Network.

"For more than 20 years we have exceeded the Earth's ability to support a consumptive lifestyle that is unsustainable and we cannot afford to continue down this path," WWF Director-General James Leape said in releasing the 2006 Living Planet Report in Beijing.

"If everyone around the world lived as those in America, we would need five planets to support us," Leape added.

Largely because of its huge per capita emissions of carbon dioxide — a gas many scientists tie to global warming — the United Arab Emirates were placing the most stress per capita on the planet ahead of the United States, Finland, Canada, Kuwait and Australia, the report said.

Using the report's criteria, Cuba is the only country in the world that has a high level of development, including good health and education systems, and does not use up more resources than is sustainable.

Groups: Footprint getting bigger
The report estimated that "humanity's footprint has more than tripled between 1961 and 2003" — and that consumption has even outpaced global population growth from 3 billion in 1960 to the 6.5 billion today.

In 2003, the report added, humanity's ecological footprint — the demand people place on the natural world — was 25 percent greater than the planet's annual ability to provide everything from food to energy and recycle all human waste.

"This ecological 'overshoot' means that it now takes about one year and three months for the Earth to regenerate what we use in a single year," the conservation groups said in a statement. "Overshoot has increased by 4 percent since the last Living Planet Report, which was based on 2001 data, and is projected to rise to 30 percent in 2006."

"On current projections, humanity will be using two planets' worth of natural resources by 2050 — if those resources have not run out by then," the latest report said. "People are turning resources into waste faster than nature can turn waste back into resources."

"Humanity is living off its ecological credit card," Mathis Wackernagel, head of the Global Footprint Network, said in a statement. "While this can be done for a short while, overshoot ultimately leads to liquidation of the planet's ecological assets, and the depletion of resources, such as the forests, oceans and agricultural land upon which our economy depends."

The report noted that an index tracking 1,300 vertebrate species — birds, fish, amphibians, reptiles and mammals — showed that populations had fallen for most by about 30 percent because of factors including a loss of habitats to farms.

Eyes on China, other growing nations
The conservation groups added that the footprint from use of fossil fuels, whose heat-trapping emissions are widely blamed for pushing up world temperatures, was the fastest-growing cause of strain.

Leape said China, home to a fifth of the world's population and whose economy is booming, was making the right move in pledging to reduce its energy consumption by 20 percent over the next five years.

"Much will depend on the decisions made by China, India and other rapidly developing countries," he added.

"The cities, power plants and homes we build today will either lock society into damaging overconsumption beyond our lifetimes," he added, "or begin to propel this and future generations toward sustainable living."



- Stop producing alot of babies ppl :mad: or use a CONDOM if u want to screw ur gf or wife

[Driv3r]

Victor Posts Again!

[Gearcraft]

Originally Posted by Driv3r

Victor Posts Again!

woo hoo. we'll send him to the second earth. lol. J/K

thats too long victor.

[ZuerstBMW]

If they keep on eating like they so, they will need 2 earths to support the fat asses.

[ksfrogman]

The only reason why humans in Beijing are stripping everything off this earth is because Chinese are known for eating anything that moves.

[just4kickz]

well the majority of developed nations have been reaching 'slow growth' whereas other less developed nations have been rapidly increasing...

[ward]

are they going to have happy ending massage in the second earth?

[ksfrogman]

One more thing...

Population growth is usually logistic:


Not exponential:

[ward]

don't bring logic into victor's posts!

[thd13]

Originally Posted by ward

don't bring logic into victor's posts!

HAHAHAHHAAHHAH

[thd13]

""For more than 20 years we have exceeded the Earth's ability to support a consumptive lifestyle that is unsustainable and we cannot afford to continue down this path," WWF Director-General James Leape said in releasing the 2006 Living Planet Report in Beijing."

Also, I would never trust anyone from the World Wrestling Federation.

[sbw]

We are lucky to be alive when we are — with relatively lots of natural resources and fossil fuels. Future generations will have it tough.

[TommyBahama]

i had rather have the need for 50 earths than give up my fossil fuel burning car.


this is a car forum after all...

[Driv3r]

Originally Posted by TommyBahama

i had rather have the need for 50 earths than give up my fossil fuel burning car.


this is a car forum after all...

lol your location says Umass, which i think is university of massachusettes, being from there i hope your kidding....

LETS SEND VICTOR TO THAT 2nd EARTH!!!:rocks: :rocks: :rocks:

[kingbriani]

Originally Posted by ksfrogman

One more thing...

Population growth is usually logistic:


Not exponential:

hopefully the human population will not, on a whole, ever reach the carrying capacity of earth. when a population reaches the carry capacity, mass deaths occur from starvation and disease. in nature, natural predators keep populations well below their environments carrying capacity. One reason why deer hunting is actually good for a deer populations health (since wolves are largely nonexistent in most parts of the country). There have been several times in history that an areas carrying capacity for humans has been exceeded (Ireland's potato famine) and its usually due to overpopulation or poor harvests. Just another reason to support the use of pesticides in farming!

[Bimmerista]

Time for another BMW - while I still can,


Of course Maltheus predicted humans would all starve to death by 1980 (or something like that). I think the WWF likes to sound like Chicken Little - serves their agenda - not to say we should not be concerned about the environment and sustainable development.

[Bimmerista]

Originally Posted by Victor.L3IchibanM3Using the report's criteria, Cuba is the only country in the world that has a [B

high level of development[/B], including good health and education systems, and does not use up more resources than is sustainable.

OK, now I know those guys were completely stoned when drafting the "report" using the "criteria".

[BK]

If there is less traffic on the second earth, I'm there, dude!

[TommyBahama]

Originally Posted by Driv3r

lol your location says Umass, which i think is university of massachusettes, being from there i hope your kidding....

LETS SEND VICTOR TO THAT 2nd EARTH!!!:rocks: :rocks: :rocks:

yea im currently at Umass, im not a liberal. This is the first blue state ive ever lived in. its kinda wierd.

though i was joking in this case about the 50 earths.

[txusa03]

Originally Posted by ward

are they going to have happy ending massage in the second earth?

hahaha, good one...

[supernova]

this isnt the first time they've said this. Stats like these have been around for quite sometime. I dont understand the shock from some people. Were you seriously surprised by this? Are you aware of your own consumption? Multiply that by 6 billion people, demanding more and more each day. Also, not only consumption, wastes must be considered as well.