The UK's Ecological Footprint

Another story that shows it's not all about the credit crunch ... the Living Planet Report is the work of WWF, the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network:

"In the UK, the 'ecological footprint' - the amount of the Earth's land and sea needed to provide the resources we use and absorb our waste - is 5.3 hectares per person. This is more than twice the 2.1 hectares per person actually available for the global population."

"The UK's national ecological footprint is the 15th biggest in the world, and is the same size as that of 33 African countries put together."

" 'The events in the last few months have served to show us how it's foolish in the extreme to live beyond our means,' said WWF's international president, Chief Emeka Anyaoku. 'Devastating though the financial credit crunch has been, it's nothing as compared to the ecological recession that we are facing.' The more than $2 trillion (£1.2 trillion) lost on stocks and shares was dwarfed by the up to $4.5 trillion worth of resources destroyed forever each year."