This is an interesting conversation to have, because we are getting at one of the primary differences between people who think environmental issues are paramount and people who think economics are paramount. My point is not that footprint per GDP is a worthless way of looking at the state of the world. It is very important, as it can provide some hints about which way we might want to go as a society to reduce our own footprint.

But it seems to me that you were downplaying a real problem, which is that richer nations are using up the world's resources. If you examine the WWF report, you'll see many different things. For one thing, wealth seems to be a primary factor in resource consumption. The countries with the biggest footprint per person are primarily America and the Western European countries. So there is no reason to assume that producing wealth more efficiently makes a nation a better environmental citizen.

Another thing you'll see is that population also makes a big difference in footprint. If you look at the map on page 18 of the report, you'll see that China's footprint as a country is almost as big as the US - China has a much lower standard of living but four times the population as the US. So what happens when the Chinese achieve the same wealth as the US? They'd better learn quickly to be more sustainable or they could screw the whole planet. What about India, which currently uses even less land per person than China?

So let's not ignore the basic message of the WWF report: we are using up the earth faster than it can replenish.

Now, as for technology being inextricably linked to ecological consumption... well, technology can provide solutions. I think sustainable technologies hold a lot of promise and are being underutilized right now. The more technologically advanced nations are also the wealthy nations, and as I've already pointed out, more wealth leads to more consumption in general. It doesn't have to be that way in the future, but it is that way right now.

And please don't think that environmentalism is anti economic growth! There are ways to have a high standard of living and still cut our footprint. Likewise, technology and economic growth are necessary to find more environmentally efficient ways of living.