WWF Report: Ecological Credit Crunch Officially Worse than Financial Credit Crunch

An international study by the WWF, ZSL and partners - the Living Planet Report - reveals that we will need 'two planets' by 2030 in order to sustain current rates of consumption. Three quarters of the world's population are consuming more than can be replaced each year.

The study examined the 'ecological footprint' of countries across the world, and the rate at which we are degrading all the necessary life support systems of the planet. Rainforests provide clear air and carbon sequestration, fresh water supplies are being spoilt and marine fisheries are being consistently over harvested.

The reports authors estimate that the financial equivalent of this degradation, dwarfs the losses of the present financial crisis - the ecological debt reaching at least £2.5 trillion every year.

Sir David King, the British government's former chief scientific adviser, added:

"We all need to agree that there's a crisis of understanding, that we're removing the planet's biodiverse resources at a rate which is as fast if not faster than the world's last great extinction."

Read the full report here: http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-files/Environment/documents/2008/10/28/LPR_2008.pdf