Understanding Sustainability: Indicators, Ecological Footprint, and Risk Assessment
Sustainability Indicators and Environmental Assessment
To uphold the principle of irreversibility, it’s crucial to assess the environmental damage caused by human activities and implement mitigation strategies.
The Role of Environmental Indicators
An environmental indicator is a variable or assessment tool that provides insights into the state or evolution of a specific environmental problem. It aids in the decision-making process to adopt the most appropriate solutions.
Objectives of Sustainability
- Ecological Sustainability: Preserving natural ecosystems.
- Economic Sustainability: Avoiding depletion of natural resources.
- Social Sustainability: Ensuring the health and welfare of human beings.
Types of Environmental Indicators
- Pressure (P): Problems caused by human activity.
- State (E): Effects arising from pressure on the environment.
- Response (R): Political and social efforts to address environmental issues.
The Ecological Footprint
The ecological footprint is a valuable indicator for assessing human impact on the planet and our level of sustainability.
It measures the total environmental impact generated by a human population on the environment. It’s expressed as the amount of productive area (land or marine) needed to produce consumed resources, absorb generated waste, and support vegetation that can absorb emitted carbon dioxide.
The global average is 2.3 ha/capita, exceeding the Earth’s estimated carrying capacity of 2.1 ha/capita.
Understanding Risk, Catastrophe, Disaster, and Calamity
Risk is any condition, process, or event that can cause personal injury, economic loss, or environmental damage. It applies to the probability of a specific event causing harm.
Catastrophe refers to the noticeable effects on people once an event has occurred.
Disaster describes a situation where the degree of destruction is so significant that external assistance is required.
Calamity indicates a disaster that is temporary in nature.
Types of Risks
Technological or Cultural Risks
These risks arise from the normal operation of machines, the routine use of chemicals, human error, or hazardous lifestyles. Examples include oil spills, drug use, or high nitrate concentrations in agricultural water.
Natural or Ecological Risks
These risks are due to natural causes and can include:
- Biotic Constraints: Diseases caused by infectious organisms, parasites, pollens, or animals (e.g., Black Plague, AIDS, locust plagues).
- Chemical Risks: Hazards from chemicals in food, water, air, or soil (e.g., breathing gases expelled by a volcano).
- Physical Risks: Various risks such as radio waves, electromagnetic fields, noise, and fires. The most significant are:
Climate-Related Risks
These are related to atmospheric phenomena like tornadoes, cold snaps, and droughts.
Geological Risks
These are due to geological processes and are divided into:
- Internal Geological Risks: Arising from internal geological processes like volcanoes and earthquakes.
- External Geological Risks: Geological processes due to external factors, often weather-dependent, such as landslides and floods.
Cosmic Risks
These originate from space, such as meteorites or variations in solar radiation.
Mixed Risks
These result from the alteration or enhancement of natural processes due to human actions.