Earth is facing 'ecological credit crunch'

GENEVA, Switzerland, Oct. 29 (UPI) -- The World Wide Fund for Nature says the Earth is heading for an "ecological credit crunch."

The organization said in its latest Living Planet Report human demands on the world's natural capital have reached nearly one-third more than Earth can sustain.

"The world is currently struggling with the consequences of over-valuing its financial assets," said WWF International Director General James Leape. "But a more fundamental crisis looms ahead -- an ecological credit crunch caused by under-valuing the environmental assets that are the basis of all life and prosperity."

The report, produced with the Zoological Society of London and the Global Footprint Network, shows more than three-quarters of the world's people living in nations that are ecological debtors.

"Most of us are propping up our current lifestyles and our economic growth, by drawing -- and increasingly overdrawing -- on the ecological capital of other parts of the world," said Leape. "If our demands on the planet continue to increase at the same rate, by the mid-2030s we would need the equivalent of two planets to maintain our lifestyles."

The report is available at http://assets.panda.org/downloads/living_planet_report_2008.pdf.