SOURCES, SINKS and FOOTPRINTS
We use the natural environment as a source - it provides us with our daily needs.
We also use it as a sink for all our waste products. The combination of sources and sinks represents the amount of land, water and air (known as bioproductive areas) needed to support our lifestyles.
This can be measured in global hectares (gha) and is known as our eco-footprint.
Source
This means that we use the natural environment to obtain the things we need for our everyday life.
Sink
This means that we use the natural environment to get rid of the things we use for our everyday life.
Bioproductive Area
This is the amount of land, water and air we need to support what we do in our everday life.
Urban Challenges
Consumption isn't evenly spread. Internationally, patterns reveal that the links between wealth and environmental impacts are not clear. Switzerland, Germany and the Netherlands all have higher GDP per capita and longer life expectancies than the UK, but all have lower eco-footprints.
LEDC's do tend to have much smaller eco-footprints because their lifestyle and consumption patterns are different. As countries develop though, their eco-footprints grow. London isn't the worst city in the UK in terms of eco-footprint per person, however London's total eco-footprint is estimated to extend over an area twice the size of Britain. Londoners as a whole need land the size of Spain to maintain their current standard of living!