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Utah Vital Signs: Environmental Trends that are Shaping Utah’s Future

Utah Vital Signs: Environmental Trends that are Shaping Utah’s Future. 30 January 2007. Sustainability. “Meeting the needs of the present without com- promising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”.

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Utah Vital Signs: Environmental Trends that are Shaping Utah’s Future

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  1. Utah Vital Signs:Environmental Trends that are Shaping Utah’s Future 30 January 2007

  2. Sustainability “Meeting the needs of the present without com- promising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” World Commission on Environment and Development (Brundtland Commission), 1987 Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland

  3. Living beyond our means • “Uphill Climb to Sustainability” • “Catching Up to the Cost of Global Warming” • “New York Times reporter recounts his quest for global sustainability” • “Not enough fish in the sea” • “The impacts of global warming are arriving”

  4. Living beyond our means • Solid science • Popular consciousness Vice President Al Gore

  5. Living beyond our means • Books [show a few covers]

  6. Living beyond our means • Academic literature:

  7. Living sustainably in Utah • Being conscious about using resources • Stewardship of Utah’s natural heritage • Maintaining our quality of life Students from Rose Park Elementary in Salt Lake City experience the wetlands for the first time at Swaner Nature Preserve (photo taken by Chantal Christensen).

  8. Utah Vital Signs • Goal: To empower Utah citizens and key decision-makers to make better decisions about their future by providing clear, well documented information about key indicators of environ- mental sustainability in Utah.

  9. Utah Vital Signs • Utah Population and Environment Coalition (UPEC) started the discussion: • Active in sustainability issues since 1997 • Mission: We believe it is our responsibility as citizens of the earth to be concerned about the environment, sustainability, and population. Furthermore, we place special value on the unique heritage and landscape of the state of Utah.

  10. Living Planet Report For a copy go to http://www.footprintnetwork.org and click on “Publications”

  11. Living Planet Report

  12. Living Planet Report • Ecological Footprint: an ecological accounting tool that compares • Humanity’s demand (Ecological Footprint) • Nature’s supply (Biocapacity)

  13. Living Planet Report

  14. Ecological Footprint 1996 2000

  15. Established standards maintained by international organization Expressed in terms of global hectares per person (1 hectare = 2.471 acres) Based upon human demand on the Earth – not wildlife needs Not predictive – only a picture in time Ecological Footprint

  16. Footprints Across the World

  17. Footprints Across the World

  18. Ecological Footprint:The U.S. calculation

  19. Ecological Footprint:The U.S. calculation

  20. Ecological Footprint:The U.S. calculation

  21. Living Planet Report:Scenarios

  22. Our study:Utah Vital Signs 1 Research and prepare a report, Utah Vital Signs: Environmental Trends that are Shaping Utah’s Future. Prepare a variety of additional reporting formats for the data, both print and electronic. Build relationships with other researchers. Build partnerships with organizations working towards sustainability. 2 3 4

  23. Pilot round: October 2006–June 2007 • Proposal last summer • Governing Committee – chair, Wayne Martinson • Project Director – Sandra McIntyre • Talking with other organizations • Generous private donors • Collaboration with University of Utah College of Architecture + Planning • Faculty advisors – Profs. Philip Emmi and Maged Senbel • Graduate students – Helen Peters and Bill Cobabe • Board members and volunteers – Doug Stark, Peggy Christensen, Michael Mielke, and others

  24. Ecological Footprint of Utah: Study Boundaries • State of Utah • 1990 Base year for Kyoto Protocol • 2003 Last year of complete data

  25. Ecological Footprint of Utah:Sample Questions • Supply Side • How productive is Utah’s farmland compared to the national average? • How productive is Utah’s grazing land compared to the national average? • Demand Side • What amount of fruit, vegetables, grain and animal products do we consume? • What amount of land is built up in the state?

  26. Quality Assurance and Data Transparency • Use of original data sources where possible • Sharing of Utah data and calculation formulas online • Checking of data for internal consistency

  27. Preliminary Results • In 1990, Utah was still living within its means • By 2003, after the growth of the 1990s, we were in ecological overshoot

  28. Stay tuned! • Community RoundtableTue., June 19, 11:30-1:00Main Salt Lake City Library, 4th Floor • Press release and media briefingsEnd of June

  29. How big are your feet? http://myfootprint.org

  30. Interesting aspects to explore • The responsibilities of stewardship of the land • The selection of components • Implications for growth • Quality of life • Global comparisons • Interconnectness of global economy

  31. Collaborate with us • Contacts: • Wayne Martinson, UPEC chairWMart.dsawyer@aros.net • Sandra McIntyre, project directorsmcintyre@utahpop.org • Helen Peters, lead researcherhmpeters@utahpop.org

  32. For more information • Utah Vital Signs web site:http://www.utahpop.org/vitalsigns/

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