Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
Estimated
biological
capacity
(millions km²)
2005
Population
(millions)
Ecological
footprint
(millions km²)
Eco-deficit
(100 =
equilibrium)
2005 GNP
(billions $)
Country
The World
6,475.23
13,340.521
17,420.115
131
United States
298.21
12,270.000
1,497.014
2,809.138
188
Brazil
186.41
644.000
1,353.337
439.928
32
Russian
Federation
143.2
639.000
1,161.352
537.000
46
People's
Republic of
China
1,323.35
2,264.000
1,138.081
2,792.268
245
Canada
32.27
1,052.000
647.013
228.149
35
India
1,103.37
793.000
452.382
981.999
217
Indonesia
222.78
282.000
309.684
211.641
68
Table 10.1.
The seven largest countries in the world
in terms of biological capacity [EWI 08]
In the latest version of Wackernagel's database [EWI 08], in 2005 the United
States, with 6% of global landmass and only 4.6% of global population, produced a
quarter of global wealth and controlled 11.2% of the planet's total biological
capacity. Compared to China, the United States emerges as a land of plenty. But,
according to Wackernagel, longstanding American consumption and waste
production exceed national biological capacity. If we give credit to this accounting,
the United States contributed 16% of humanity's global ecological footprint and
would need an area 1.9 times the actual surface area of the United States. China is
just behind the U.S. in exceeding its biological capacity in 2005. It would be
interesting to update this ecological accounting to see how China's economic
development has pushed China to exceed the United States' overall footprint around
2008, although it should be noted the United States has made no serious effort to
reduce its own footprint. In practice, the United States imports a growing share of
their necessities since the Second World War, while their natural resources continue
to be depleted (see Chapter 2). This has not hindered American growth; quite the
contrary, since wealth is measured not by production but by the full consumption of
goods available throughout the world at prices set in terms of what the market will
bear, which is roughly the description of international trade since 1945 (see Chapter
6).
