How much will the earth be able to handle before its natural resources runs out?
Humans have increased the carrying capacity of Earth. But there is no evidence that proofs that Earth does not have a limit like other environments.
A person's ecological footprint is the total amount of land required for cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, forestland, carbon absorption land, and building area. Globally the estimated average ecological footprint per person is about 10 000m2.
(Carter- Edwards et al, 555)
Earth’s carrying capacity for the human population (available biocapacity) includes factors such as cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, forest land, carbon- absorption land, and building area. Approximately, one-quarter of Earth’s surface makes its biocapacity. Therefore, the human ecological footprint now exceeds the Earth’s biocapacity by more than 40%.
(Carter- Edwards et al, 555)
The ecological demand is possible only for a limited time before ecosystems begin to degrade and possibly collapse
(Wackernagel)
Many basic resources are already tight due to the population growth and the shortage of Earth’s natural resources:
A person's ecological footprint is the total amount of land required for cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, forestland, carbon absorption land, and building area. Globally the estimated average ecological footprint per person is about 10 000m2.
(Carter- Edwards et al, 555)
Earth’s carrying capacity for the human population (available biocapacity) includes factors such as cropland, grazing land, fishing grounds, forest land, carbon- absorption land, and building area. Approximately, one-quarter of Earth’s surface makes its biocapacity. Therefore, the human ecological footprint now exceeds the Earth’s biocapacity by more than 40%.
(Carter- Edwards et al, 555)
The ecological demand is possible only for a limited time before ecosystems begin to degrade and possibly collapse
- This freighting revelation can already already be seen in water shortages, desertification, erosion, reduced cropland productivity, overgrazing, deforestation, rapid extinction of species, collapse of fisheries and global climate change. To add in, new consequences of exceeding the available biocapacity are regularly being discovered, and others may become apparent long into the future.
(Wackernagel)
Many basic resources are already tight due to the population growth and the shortage of Earth’s natural resources:
- food
- water shortages
- air quality
- shortage of oil and gas
- the slow destruction of the ozone layer
- world's forests
- limit of Earth's topsoil