Let’s talk about ecological footprints.
by Maresia Fernandes
At the time this has been written, we are losing forests at the rate of 48 football fields per minute. Over the past few decades, humanity has consumed 50% more resources than Earth can provide. We can calculate this thanks to the Ecological Footprint system, which is used to measure the quantity of nature it takes to support people in contrast to what the planet is able to renew.
Looking at our wardrobes and cabinetry, our streets and stores, we can understand why we need to weigh what we are doing, transforming and releasing. Every time we acquire new things, we are automatically requesting them from the ground we walk on, the air we breathe and the water we drink. For this, we should do it with care and responsibility. More than that, we should know what we are buying, who made it and where it comes from.
People used to see the producer as someone who could make and deliver a product. However, when marketing joined industrialization, society got an upside-down view about consumption and started to see the producer as an instrument who was there only to deliver the desired product. And when people stop seeing people as people, only unnatural things can take place.
Mass-production escalated until the roof, broke the roof and still going.
When you walk, what do you step? – Or, who do you step? Metaphorically, we’re asking if our acquisitions are what we want them to be. Nowadays, we can easily associate some products with someone’s miserable pay, animal exploitation and Nature’s limited resources. But this is not what we want them to be.
We want to know the producer and the product and entrust the procedure.
We want everyone to see people as people and to give worthy value to the producers. All over the world, there are sustainable brands growing up, who choose to run slowly but steady, proud of their actions and whole products. There are delightful things being made and designs are getting better in all aspects. Science and technology are important engines for responsive brands who work hard to deliver the best and longest-lasting products.
Consumers are looking for ecological and vegan brands that offer all of the fairness to Earth, humans and animals. So, when we walk, we want to step merely the ground we walk on – and nothing else.
The website Global Footprint Network provides a Footprint Calculator where you can find out how many planets would be needed if everyone lives the way you do.
Our Planet, a Netflix original documentary series that reports human’s impact on Earth has an official website with helpful informations.
Maresia seeks answers to questions and new questions to old answers. Trying to express herself, she writes, illustrates and does other hundreds of things.
You can find her on Instagram and on her blog.
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