2010 Volume 6 Issue 3 Pages 201-208
Objectives. The objective of this paper is three-fold. The first one is to present the overview of the recent research development and applications of Ecological Footprint Analysis. The second objective is to identify the differences between Ecological Footprint and Carbon Footprint. The third one is to discuss the way how to ‘visualize’ the environmental impacts of radioactive matters including tailings of the uranium mining, as well as prolonged impact management costs of large amount of spent fuels emitted from the use of nuclear energy and debris of decommissioned reactors.
Results and Discussion. The comparison of the Ecological Footprint and Carbon Footprint revealed that each indicator has its own merits and short-comings. Thus, the users should use those indicators with their full understanding of the features, philosophies and implications hidden behind these indicators. Various footprints associated with nuclear energy have been identified and categorized based on the information and data corrected through field observations of the nuclear facilities and uranium minesites in different parts of the world.
Conclusion. The noble objectives of building a Low Carbon Society may produce unsustainable outcomes if only carbon footprint is being paid attention to. Other sustainability criteria should be incorporated into decision making processes, such as ecological footprint, radioactive footprint, prolonged impact management footprint and water-warming footprint and so on in order to design a sustainable and livable society.
