The German Capability Index—An Operationalization of Sen’s …
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of 2600–3600 e, whereas the expenses in absolute terms grow continuously until the
highest income group. This social group spends on average 1217 e for FEW-nexus
related commodities (Table 6).
For the couples with children, the meaning of the FEW-nexus commodities also
changes with rising income. Until an income of 1500–2000 e, the goods have a
relative superior character, and then the character changes to a relative inferior good,
similar to the single parents.
In the following, we will analyse the indirect effects of the consumption patterns
of the German households on the FEW-nexus sectors not only in Germany but also
on a global level. To do so, we analyse in the following the effect of the household consumption expenses and its impact on the ecological footprint and the water
footprint.
3.2 Ecological Footprint
The central starting point for the development of the ecological footprint was the
recognition that people are part of nature and they depend on it and its goods (energy,
wood, materials and water) and use nature as a repository for their waste [81, 82].
Water and energy are two life-support services of nature without which life would
not be possible [6, 66]. Hence, ecological sustainability inevitably requires living
within the boundaries of nature [7, 8]. The ecological footprint serves as a measure
for this [48].
Wackernagel describes the ecological sustainability approach in the development
of the ecological footprint as follows: “Not living within our ecological means
will lead to the destruction of humanity’s only home. Having insufficient natural
resources, not living decently and equitably will cause conflict and degrade our social
fabric. Thus, the ecological footprint as an ecological sustainability tool determines
whether “people’s quality of life improves over time” [79]”. The improvement of
the human quality of life should take place within the ecological possibilities of the
ecosystem. Wackernagel’s approach calculates the impact that humans have on the
earth and its resources using the ecological footprint (EF) [79].
Different organizations have also developed methods to calculate ecological footprints for the earth, countries, regions and communities [74].
4 In the following, the
procedure developed by Wackernagel and Rees in 1996 and continued by the Global
4 https://www.myfootprint.org/.
https://www.ecologicalfootprint.org/.
https://www.redefiningprogress.org/.
https://www.agenda21berlin.de/fussabdruck/vorstellung.html.
https://www.deutschebp.de/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9008474&contentId=701
5566.
https://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/ecological_footprint_calculator.htm.
https://www.ew.govt.nz/enviroinfo/indicators/community/sustainability/ecofoot/report.htm.
https://www.bestfootforward.com/foot.html.
163
of 2600–3600 e, whereas the expenses in absolute terms grow continuously until the
highest income group. This social group spends on average 1217 e for FEW-nexus
related commodities (Table 6).
For the couples with children, the meaning of the FEW-nexus commodities also
changes with rising income. Until an income of 1500–2000 e, the goods have a
relative superior character, and then the character changes to a relative inferior good,
similar to the single parents.
In the following, we will analyse the indirect effects of the consumption patterns
of the German households on the FEW-nexus sectors not only in Germany but also
on a global level. To do so, we analyse in the following the effect of the household consumption expenses and its impact on the ecological footprint and the water
footprint.
3.2 Ecological Footprint
The central starting point for the development of the ecological footprint was the
recognition that people are part of nature and they depend on it and its goods (energy,
wood, materials and water) and use nature as a repository for their waste [81, 82].
Water and energy are two life-support services of nature without which life would
not be possible [6, 66]. Hence, ecological sustainability inevitably requires living
within the boundaries of nature [7, 8]. The ecological footprint serves as a measure
for this [48].
Wackernagel describes the ecological sustainability approach in the development
of the ecological footprint as follows: “Not living within our ecological means
will lead to the destruction of humanity’s only home. Having insufficient natural
resources, not living decently and equitably will cause conflict and degrade our social
fabric. Thus, the ecological footprint as an ecological sustainability tool determines
whether “people’s quality of life improves over time” [79]”. The improvement of
the human quality of life should take place within the ecological possibilities of the
ecosystem. Wackernagel’s approach calculates the impact that humans have on the
earth and its resources using the ecological footprint (EF) [79].
Different organizations have also developed methods to calculate ecological footprints for the earth, countries, regions and communities [74].
4 In the following, the
procedure developed by Wackernagel and Rees in 1996 and continued by the Global
4 https://www.myfootprint.org/.
https://www.ecologicalfootprint.org/.
https://www.redefiningprogress.org/.
https://www.agenda21berlin.de/fussabdruck/vorstellung.html.
https://www.deutschebp.de/sectiongenericarticle.do?categoryId=9008474&contentId=701
5566.
https://www.ecobusinesslinks.com/ecological_footprint_calculator.htm.
https://www.ew.govt.nz/enviroinfo/indicators/community/sustainability/ecofoot/report.htm.
https://www.bestfootforward.com/foot.html.