WWF’s The Living Planet Report is the world’s leading, science-based analysis on the health of our planet and the impact of human activity. Its key findings? Humanity’s demands exceed our planet’s capacity to sustain us. That is, we ask for more than what we have.<\/em><\/p>\n <\/a><\/p>\n Since the industrial revolution began in the 1800s, the world has been on an unprecedented consumption binge. Since 1950 alone, the world’s people have consumed more goods and services than the combined total of all humans who ever walked the planet before us.<\/p>\n Humanity’s Ecological Footprint the global consumption of food, lumber, and textiles, and our release of carbon dioxide pollution increased almost 2 percent from 2007 to 2008, with more than 83 percent of humanity living in countries where the residents’ demand on nature exceeds what the respective country’s ecosystems can renew, access to these resources will become a determining factor for each nation’s economic success.<\/p>\n \u201cWe’ve entered the era of the global auction,” said Global Footprint Network President Dr. Mathis Wackernagel, where nations are forced to compete fiercely for more expensive and less abundant resources. It’s in their own self-interest to preserve and restore the natural assets they have within their borders and avoid ecological deficit spending. In a resource\u2010constrained world, such spending will become an ever\u2010more challenging economic burden.\u201d<\/p>\n