Humans were not always the most prevalent species on our earth. Until 1650 the human population only increased relatively slowly, then it exploded. After centuries of exponential increase the global population will reach an astonishing 7 billion inhabitants this year. No population can grow indefinitely, and humans are no exception. The photo below is a picture of the planet at night. The colored areas represent levels of light pollution or artificial light. Notice how developed countries on the map like the United States, Europe and Japan have significantly more colored area. In this single photo we can see that these areas are using much more energy resources. Surprisingly though, the largest proportion of the global population is in developing third world countries. Wealthy developed nations use more energy than under developed countries of greater populations.
Only recently has the global population growth rate begun to slow. Population growth is limited as are the resources we all depend on. The resources on our planet are finite and substitutions for them may not be available one day. According to the 2008 Living Planet Report, humanity’s demand for the planets resources surpassed its capacity in the late 1980’s, see figure below. In other words our demands for the planets resources have exceeded the earth’s capacity and today much of the world lives as if we had multiply planets at our disposal. 
(see link: 2008 Living Planet Report)
The human ecological footprint is the amount of environmental goods and services used by each individual or by a population or by the wholes species. You can measure your personal ecological footprint at: www.myfootprint.org. All you have to do is answer 27 questions on the site. You can discover how many planets your lifestyle requires and ways that you can reduce your ecological footprint.
Be sure to return to our blog for new posts to come soon!! Lots of topics to be discussed. Make a little time to educate your self toward becoming a more aware global citizen and stay rooted.
By Marcella Scholl
July 6, 2011
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