GEF

Unit 3  |  Primary Sustainability Issues 58 GROWYOUR KNOWLEDGE With your teacher’s permission, go to the Global Footprint Network’s Website at www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/ecological-footprint/. Read the text, review the diagram, and answer the questions below. 1. The Ecological Footprint is used only in the United States. ❍  True   ❍  False 2. Biocapacity is a part of the Ecological Footprint. ❍  True   ❍  False 3. Ecological overshoot is projected to start in 2020. ❍  True   ❍  False 4. It now takes Earth one year and six months to regenerate what we use in a year. ❍  True   ❍  False Essential Concept Impact measurements are useful tools for assessing the long- term effects of human ecological footprints. 3.1  The Central Role of Energy Energy is a primary component of sustainability as it is crucial to all three parts of the triple bottom line: economics, environ- ment, and society. There are many ways in which our current energy systems may prove to be unsustainable. Climate change is largely the result of burning fossil fuels, such as coal, oil, and natural gas, for energy. Global economic growth has depended on the availability of these nonrenew- able energy sources. There are potentially devastating changes ahead as these resources, particularly oil, become more diffi- cult to obtain. Also, the geographic concentration of fossil fuels in certain countries gives rise to power imbalances that foster