[Texgreen] Pushing the planet to its limit

[Roger Baker]

<http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=3Dc66e5a75-=20
fab4-4134-8c1a-c4689e1dde7a>



Pushing the planet to its limit
Gateway project, sprawling suburbs widen the province's ecological =20
footprint, says UBC planning professor

Maurice Bridge
Vancouver Sun

Monday, May 07, 2007
University of British Columbia Prof. Bill Rees, the man who coined =20
the term "ecological footprint," still tries to keep his own =20
footprint as small as possible, but he says no one can do it alone.

He uses a grim analogy to make his point: North Americans may use a =20
disproportionate amount of the world's resources, but if we push the =20
planet beyond its sustainable limits, we will all go down together, =20
just the way the first-class cabins on the Titanic went to a watery =20
grave just as quickly as the steerage cabins.

It has been more than a decade since he popularized the term as a way =20=

of personalizing the equivalent amount of land in continuous =20
production required to feed individual consumption. Since then, that =20
area has been increasing, and in developed nations it ranges from 4.5 =20=

hectares to 10 hectares per person.

Japan and most of the European countries are at the low end of the =20
scale, while the U.S., Canada and Australia are at the top.

Rees, who teaches at UBC's school of community and regional planning, =20=

estimates that North Americans consume 3.5 to four times their =20
reasonable share of global resources, and personal measures like =20
using a blue box aren't going to change that.

"It's very difficult for a person living in a North American city to =20
have a sound lifestyle, because the context in which we live demands =20
it," he says.

"Look at our area; we can't afford a house in town, so people are =20
forced to live in the suburbs, and because of low densities, this =20
becomes a self-feeding situation.

"Once you have a low-density suburb, it's not viable for transit, and =20=

a car becomes absolutely necessary."

Political measures like zoning force the separation of residential =20
and commercial areas, making cars even more necessary for daily life. =20=

Although Rees has cycled to work for 37 years and uses his gas-miser =20
Toyota Echo rarely, he says the bike is more for health than =20
ecological purposes.

He says national surveys indicate that even well-informed people have =20=

little willingness to sacrifice for a poorly defined common good.

"Why should one give up something if it's just going to make more =20
space for somebody else to do whatever they want? I ride a bike, but =20
that makes one more hole in the road for a big SUV."

Issues like sustainability, climate change and depletion of the =20
oceans are international concerns, he says.

"We're all on the same ship and what we do in our individual cabins =20
is of almost no consequence in terms of the direction the ship is =20
going."

Taxes are necessary to solve the problem, combined with ecologically-=20
oriented fiscal reform, he says. By subsidizing the wrong industries, =20=

such as oil and gas, governments distort the market and make it =20
impossible for viable alternatives to emerge.

"We need a formal and official declaration that sustainability is a =20
collective problem and that it's in everyone's mutual interest to see =20=

this problem addressed."

There has been an emphasis on individual rights over the past 30 =20
years, he says, adding that it is now time to talk about =20
responsibilities and realize that well-directed fiscal policies are =20
necessary to solve the problem.

However, society has not arrived at that point yet, he said, citing =20
the need for local governments to take the initiative on such things =20
as public transit.

"In our province, we have the ludicrous Gateway project, basically =20
oriented to expanding our capacity as a trading nation, i.e., to =20
increase our eco-footprint. By redirecting funds that should be going =20=

into transit, we're building more roads, bridges and other things for =20=

automobiles.

"The silly notion that because cars won't be idling, they'll be =20
reducing their greenhouse-gas emissions is nonsense. There'll be more =20=

cars, and in about three months, we'll be jammed up and more cars =20
will be idling than now."

Rees says for democracy to work, people have to be fully informed and =20=

engaged in the political process, and he is concerned that =20
governments are not leading their citizens in that direction.

He says it is critical for people to realize that only in the past =20
200 years has there been significant growth in populations and =20
economies.

"We take that to be normal, but it's really the single most anomalous =20=

period in the history of humankind, and it's entirely because we've =20
had access to fossil fuel," he says.

"You can't have one species growing indefinitely on a planet that is =20
finite."

mbridge@png.canwest.com

=A9 The Vancouver Sun 2007