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Date: 2024-04-24 Page is: DBtxt001.php L0700-CS-NC-footprint-China-v-USA

CAPITALS / STATE ... NATURAL CAPITAL
Ecological Footprint ... China -v- USA
The cumulative ecological damage done by the USA is much bigger than done by China

Ecological Footprint I
China	USA

These two diagrams were extracted from a report about the ecological footprint prepared by Global Footprint Network. A quick look and it seems that China has a significantly larger footpring than the USA in 2011, as well as increasing its footprint more rapidly than the USA. But this is not the real story, though it seems to be the story most frequently reported in the general interest media. The most important issue to correct is that the scales are different on the two graphs. I had this drummed into me as a student both at school (Blundell's) and university (Cambridge) and for more than 50 years since then I have paid attention to this matter.
Ecological Footprint II
China	USA

When these images are distorted so as to have the same scale, a different story emerges. The graphic on the left shows that China is rapidly increasing its ecological footprint ... and of course that is an issue, but as of 2011 the footprint of China was significantly lower than that ot he United States. As of 2011, the USA had a way bigger ecological footprint, way larger than that of China. But the really striking issues is that the cumulative amount of ecological damage caused by the United States is far higher than that of China ... and it is the cumulative damage that is the underlying cause of the climate crisis. Bluntly put ... it is the United States and other countries with high per capita GDPs that have caused the current climate crisis. Worse, while it is possible to have 'nationalism' as a political mantra, the ecological damage and climate are global in nature ... and nit in any way constrained by national boundaries.

The text being discussed is available at

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