Study measures Canada’s wasteful ecological footprint

There isn’t enough land on the planet to support the nation’s lifestyle

HAMILTON — If everyone in the world enjoyed Canada’s standard of living, it would take four Earths to supply our needs and dispose of our waste.

That’s the finding of a study by the Federation of Canadian Municipalities measuring the ecological footprint of 20 major municipalities and urban regions.

The report said it takes 7.25 hectares of land and sea throughout the world to support each Canadian, but the FCM said the planet has only 1.9 hectares of productive land and sea available to meet the needs of each person living on it.

By that measure, Canadians consume almost four times Earth’s capacity.

However, Americans on average consume even more, with a footprint of 9.7 hectares per person.

In general, places with the highest household incomes use the most resources, according to the authors of the study.

Ontario’s York Region is No. 1 at 10.33 hectares, followed by Calgary and Edmonton.

FCM president Ann MacLean, mayor of New Glasgow, N. S., calls the report “a wake-up call to Canadians,” showing that we are making unsustainable demands on the planet.

An ecological footprint measures the impact each person or group makes on the environment. The footprint is the biologically productive area needed to produce all the products a person or group consumes and to absorb all their waste.

Energy demand accounts for 55 per cent of the Canadian footprint, with the largest portion — 38 per cent — consumed by industry.

Transportation accounts for 35 per cent, residential uses 15 per cent and commercial/ business uses 12 per cent.

The federation suggests households and cities can reduce their footprints by driving less, walking, cycling, carpooling or using public transit.

The group also recommends eating locally grown food, retrofitting buildings to save energy, using renewable energy and driving more energy-efficient vehicles. Canadian Press