History
Academic work on calculations of the Ecological Debt came later. A remarkable article with the title "The debt of nations and the distribution of ecological impacts from human activities" was published by U. Thara Srinivasan et al. (from Berkeley) in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 2008, 105(5):1768-1773.
Studies were produced at regional level also. For instance, S. Khatua and W. Stanley, "Ecological Debt: a case study from Orissa, India" (2006) http://www.ecologicaldebt.org/publicaciones/Chapter5(125-168).pdf
Some government officials from developing countries have argued - at meetings on Climate Change - that the principle of shared responsibility demands that rich nations go beyond donations or adaptation credits and make reparations that recognize an ecological debt for excessive emissions over several decades. The top US ambassador to the COP in Copenhagen in December 2009, Todd Stern, flatly rejected arguments by diplomats from poor lands that the United States owed such a debt. (A.C.Reukin & T. Zeller, New York Times, 9 Dec. 2009).
Ecological Debt has been used to describe the consumption of resources from within an ecosystem that exceeds the system's regenerative capacity. This is seen in particular in non-renewable resources wherein consumption outstrips production. In a general sense, it can be used refer to the overall depletion of global resources beyond the Earth's ability to regenerate them. The concept in this sense is based on the bio-physical carrying capacity of an ecosystem; through measuring ecological footprints human society can determine the rate at which it is depleting natural resources. Ultimately, the imperative of sustainability requires human society to live within the means of the ecological system to support life over the long term. Ecological debt is a feature of unsustainable economic systems.
Read more about this topic: Ecological Debt
Famous quotes containing the word history:
“American time has stretched around the world. It has become the dominant tempo of modern history, especially of the history of Europe.”
—Harold Rosenberg (1906–1978)
“There is one great fact, characteristic of this our nineteenth century, a fact which no party dares deny. On the one hand, there have started into life industrial and scientific forces which no epoch of former human history had ever suspected. On the other hand, there exist symptoms of decay, far surpassing the horrors recorded of the latter times of the Roman empire. In our days everything seems pregnant with its contrary.”
—Karl Marx (1818–1883)