The earth is heating up year by year, rising sea levels cause flooding of coastal areas, the disappearance of islands, acid rain, an increasing number of droughts and common forest fires, concurrent with increasingly catastrophic storms and hurricanes in other areas, gradual extinction of species, global epidemics, widespread lack of food … This apocalyptic panorama may appear to be a figment of our imagination, but it corresponds to empirical findings for this century made by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
There are three things that every person should do during their lifetime: plant a tree, have a child and write a book,” José Martí
Global Warming
The reasons for this alarming drift are found in the uncontrolled emission of man-made greenhouse gases. Most of these gases originate from the combustion of fossil fuels, which releases abundant carbon dioxide, CO2. Other gases in this group are methane released from landfills and agricultural activity, nitrous oxide from fertilizers, chlorofluorocarbons from aerosols, etc. Each greenhouse gas contributes differently to global warming but scientists measure their overall effect in terms of the equivalent amount of CO2.
Exponential population
In addition, this increase in greenhouse gases must be understood in conjunction with the increase in world population, which has risen from 1000 million in 1800 to over 7000 million in 2016. According to these figures, the United Nations Population Division estimates that the world population will reach 9100 million people by 2050, making the pace of current pollution unsustainable
Planting a tree is the best way of leaving your mark”.
An unsustainable world
The unsustainability of civilization was already envisaged, from a demographic, economic and socio-political perspective, in Malthusianism, a theory developed by the British economist Thomas Malthus during the industrial revolution.Malthus estimated that human populations grow exponentially (i.e., doubling with each cycle) while food production for survival grows arithmetically.
The application of new means of production since then has made it possible for a greater increase in resources than predicted by Malthus, but it is precisely these unnatural methods, anti-environmental, that have brought about the unsustainability of the planet.
We must pursue the path to sustainability taking responsibility for our behaviour out of respect for nature.
The ecological footprint
Thus, an indicator has been set for the environmental impact generated by human demand on existing resources and the Earth´s ecological capacity to regenerate them. This is the Ecological Footprint, which measures the area needed to produce the resources consumed and to assimilate the waste generated and calculating our impact on the planet´s biocapacity. It is, therefore, a key indicator for measuring sustainability. The level reached corroborates the unsustainability of our civilization: the planet´s biocapacity is less than 1.8 hectares per inhabitant per year and the average consumption per inhabitant per year is 2.7 hectares.
As a consequence we consume many more resources and generate much more waste than the planet can create and support. There is not enough Earth to compensate for our consumption.It is important to be aware of our ecological footprint and to assume our personal responsibility in contributing to a more sustainable environment.
It is important to be aware of our ecological footprint and to assume our personal responsibility in contributing to a more sustainable environment.
Individual Responsibility
Reversing this dynamic, which has its main origins in mass industrial production and exponential population growth, may seem impossible to the ordinary citizen, especially when the most ambitious environmental treaty in the world, the Kyoto Protocol, is systematically infringed by the major polluting countries.
However, citizens individually, can act apart from mass mobilizations and seek for a positive ecological footprint for each one of us.
Calculating the ecological footprint of a person is complex. However, there are tools such as the one published in My Footprint that enable each individual to know easily what our impact is on the sustainability of our planet.
Planting a tree
With a focus on care and respect for the natural environment, planting a tree is one of the best ways of eliminating carbon dioxide and contributing to the sustainability of the environment. The United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) estimates that a tree absorbs approximately 10 kg of CO2 each year. The United Nations Environment Program estimates that if each inhabitant of the planet were to plant a tree, the damage caused during the last decade would be more or less repaired.
With the proliferation of these basic and universal ways of life we could counteract climate change and deforestation, offset CO2 levels, curb desertification, facilitate access to water, regenerate the soil and increase its productivity, improve animals´ natural habitat, reduce poverty and provide healthy food, which in turn would prevent diseases.
The biocapacity of the planet is less than 1.8 hectares per inhabitant per year and the average consumption per inhabitant per year is 2.7 hectares”.
“There are three things that every person should do during their lifetime: plant a tree, have a child and write a book,” affirms the Cuban poet José Martí, citing three actions that allow the human being to excel, make a positive mark in life and perpetuate civilization.
The Moringa oleifera mother tree, which enriches agricultural soils with nitrogen and decreases CO2.
Planting a tree is one of the best ways of eliminating carbon dioxide and contributing to the sustainability of the environment”.
