Home > Earthgauge radio, Economic growth, Economics, Genuine wealth, Podcasts, Sustainability > Earthgauge Radio July 26, 2012: Bill Rees and our ecological footprint

Earthgauge Radio July 26, 2012: Bill Rees and our ecological footprint

On Earthgauge Radio this week, I re-broadcast a full feature length interview I did with the renowned UBC ecologist Bill Rees, who was recently honoured with the prestigious Blue Planet Prize.

Rees and Mathis Wackernagel are responsible for coming up with the concept of the ecological footprint, which has revolutionized the way the world looks at sustainability. Basically, the ecological footprint tool is a comprehensive accounting system that measures human carrying capacity and helps assess the risks of overconsumption to planetary stability. In recognition of their work, last month Rees and Wackernagel were awarded the Blue Planet Prize, which is an award given by Japan’s Asahi Glass Foundation to recognize leaders who make a difference in safeguarding biodiversity.

Rees and Wackernagel join the environmental scientist Thomas Lovejoy as this year’s winners whose names are added to a veritable who’s who in the conservation world, with past winners that include Lester Brown, James Lovelock, David Brower, Paul Ehrlich, Theo Colborn, Gustave Speth, Amory Lovins, and James Hansen. A handful of organizations have also been recognized by the prize, including IUCN and Conservation International.

I spoke with Bill Rees last year and this week as part of our Earthgauge Radio summer schedule I am rebroadcasting the full interview in 2 parts. If you’re not familiar with Rees or his work, and even if you are, you’re going to want to check this out as it’s really fascinating and important stuff. The ecological footprint concept is not just about ecology and conservation, it is particularly relevant to our entire economic system and provides an excellent means of understanding why the global economy is so unsustainable.

We also have our usual segment from our friends at Deutsche Welle radio who bring us the latest in interntional eco-news.

Earthgauge Radio is broadcast every other Thursday morning at 7:00-8:00 AM on CKCU 93.1 FM in Ottawa.

Categories: Earthgauge radio, Economic growth, Economics, Genuine wealth, Podcasts, Sustainability Tags: Bill Rees, Blue Planet Prize, Mathis Wackernagel
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