Published May 11, 2008
by dbazely
The superb CBC radio series, The Age of Persuasion, hosted by Terry O'Reilly, is essential listening for everyone interested in Sustainability. There is an unofficial podcast.
This series introduces us to the world of advertising. In the past 100+ years, advertising has been encouraging us to consume more. It seems to me that if sustainability is about getting people in North America to consume less, then we need to harness the know-how of the advertising industry to help us here.
In 2003, the Canadian per capita Ecological Footprint was 7.6 global hectares per person, while that of people in many African and Asian countries was under 1 global hectare per person. So, that means that I am the equivalent of 8 people from those countries, in terms of what I consume - wood, metal, water, hydro. HOMEWORK for sustainable shopping is to read WWF International's 2006 Living Planet Report. In 1999, I started using the Living Planet Reports to teach my second-year Ecology class, BIOLOGY 2050, about ecological footprints. The 1998 report was only available in hard copy. The idea of the ecological footprint is very clearly explained in these excellent reports in which the data are pulled from many international government sources and vetted by various experts.
Dawn Bazely
Posted in: Blogs | IRIS Director Blog | Shopping the Talk
