William E Rees
United Kingdom
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Articles by William E Rees
Key Legal Risks Every Real Estate Agent Should Be Aware Of
At DW Fox Tucker Lawyers, we work closely with South Australia’s real estate sector and understand the challenges agents face at every stage of their careers, including those just starting. Real estate is a highly regulated industry. While some professions may need to navigate one or two key pieces of legislation, real estate agents need to have a working understanding of a much broader legal framework.
Carrying capacity: The vinegar in economists’ wine
Think ‘ecological footprint’ How it all began India’s metropolitan Delhi in has 35 million residents; the Tokyo region is home to 37 million, almost the population of Canada (the world’s second largest country by area!) China’s population of 1.4 billion occupies 9.6 million km2; that’s 17% of the world’s people living on just 6.4% of Earth’s land area. Have you ever wondered whether a city can grow too large? Is China overpopulated? And what criteria might apply to answering such questions?
Livable Housing Design Standard changes postponed in South Australia
Previous history The National Construction Code (NCC) 2022 replaced the NCC 2019 in South Australia effective 1 October 2024, and mandates the ABCB Silver Level Standard for Livable Housing Design, with concessions and exemptions for particular types and sizes of buildings and regarding certain amenities.
Providing Housing Under the NDIS – Dangers of a Combined Service and Tenancy Agreement
As an NDIS service provider providing accommodation, if you only execute a service contract with a participant, and not also a separate tenancy agreement, you may find that you have fallen into an entirely new regulated scheme with expanded obligations, and that your rights to terminate and obtain vacant possession are limited.
Reed Smith advises essensys Bidco Limited on £11.3 million recommended takeover of essensys plc
The transaction is being implemented by way of a takeover offer under the UK Takeover Code. Bidco is a newly incorporated company formed specifically for the purpose of making the offer and is backed by Mark Furness, the founder of essensys plc, together with members of the concert party. Founded in 2006 and admitted to trading on AIM in 2019, essensys provides software and technology to landlords and flexible workspace operators, enabling them to manage and operate technology-enabled workspaces.
Why collapse is inevitable
Discover more from standstoreeson William E Rees, PhD, FRSC Professor Emeritus UBC Faculty of Applied Science Human ecologist and ecological economist; co-developer of ecological footprint assessment. Over 1,000 subscribers Already have an account? Sign in Part 3) MTI culture as mega-psychopath Part 1 argued that modern humans are maladapted by nature and nurture to the world they themselves have created.
SA Planning Law changes – Site contamination investigation reports for land use changes | DW Fox Tucker Lawyers
The South Australian State Planning Commission has on 31 October 2025 released new Version 5 of Practice Direction 14, replacing Version 4 which was issued in 2023. This Practice Direction describes how a relevant authority is to consider an application for planning consent under the Planning, Development and Infrastructure Act 2016 (the Act), where the application proposes a ‘sensitive use’ for land or a change of land use to a ‘more sensitive use’.
Twenty-four reasons why we are hooped
According to witness survivors, even as the Titanic wallowed ever-lower and began its final list to Port, some passengers refused to get into half-empty life-boats – after all, they protested, the White Star Line brochure stated quite clearly that the vessel was “designed to be unsinkable”. And besides, the band still played on. Let’s leap forward a century or so and increase the spatial scale a bit.
Why Village People’s YMCA is actually a great fit for team Trump Original
It was a bizarre sight watching a huge gay 1970s disco hit being performed at Donald Trump’s 2025 pre-inauguration rally. Many prominent artists from Beyoncé to Bruce Springsteen prohibit Trump from using their music. So why do Village People – a band synonymous with the 1970s gay liberation movement – allow their music to be associated with a political movement that has fixed and repressive ideas about sexual identity and morality?
Navigating the legal requirements of building and providing housing for people with disabilities under the National Disability Insurance Scheme
This communication provides general information which is current as at the time of production. The information contained in this communication does not constitute advice and should not be relied upon as such. Professional advice should be sought prior to any action being taken in reliance on any of the information. Should you wish to discuss any matter raised in this article, or what it means for you, your business or your clients' businesses, please feel free to contact us.
On Being a Snowflake in an Avalanche: The Catastrophe of Overshoot and How to Cope
This article is divided into three parts. Part 1 is the scene-setter, a rundown of humanity’s overshoot predicament and how we got into it. Part 2 chronicles my career-long response to understanding overshoot from an ecological perspective. If you’re still with me for Part 3, I share a few lessons learned and offer some advice for coping with the challenges of both knowing about and experiencing the consequences of overshoot. Part 1.
Por qué las grandes ciudades no sobrevivirán al siglo XXI - por William E. Rees
07 de julio de 2024 (22:46 h.) Por qué las grandes ciudades no sobrevivirán al siglo XXI - por William E.
A US with fewer allies threatens global security Original
At a recent election rally in South Carolina, Donald Trump said he would “encourage” aggressors such as Russia “to do whatever the hell they want” to Nato allies he considers to have not met their financial obligations. Trump’s comments, however offensive, may merely be an electoral strategy. Why should, say, a South Carolinian citizen see their taxes go towards defending faraway lands, especially if they believe these partners are not willing to pay equally?
World scientists’ warning: The behavioural crisis driving ecological overshoot
For Will Steffen (1947–2023), one of the kindest advocates for our planet in a time of crisis. ‘The conscious and intelligent manipulation of the organized habits and opinions of the masses is an important element in democratic society. Those who manipulate this unseen mechanism of society constitute an invisible government which is the true ruling power of our country. We are governed, our minds are molded, our tastes formed, our ideas suggested, largely by men we have never heard of’.
The Human Ecology of Overshoot: Why a Major ‘Population Correction’ Is Inevitable
1. Introduction and Purpose This paper examines the human population conundrum through the lens of human evolutionary ecology and the role of available energy. My starting premises are as follows: (1) Modern techo-industrial (MTI) society is in a state of advanced ecological overshoot (for an excellent introduction to overshoot see William Catton’s classic, Overshoot [1]).
The Human Ecology of Overshoot: Why a Major ‘Population Correction’ Is Inevitable
consequences of accelerating global heating. Should MTI culture maintain its present course, a major population correction seems inevitable. 5. The World’s Response to Overshoot “Overshoot is overshoot. Once your civilization starts to consume more than what naturally gets regenerated in its folly to pursue infinite growth on a finite planet, collapse is only a maer of time” (B [63]).
Ecological Footprint Accounting: Thirty Years and Still Gathering Steam
The Prevailing “Sustainability Story” Is Self-Defeating—It Would Serve Us Well to Change the Story Wackernagel shares Rees’s concern about deep-rooted behavioral biases against ending overshoot by design. However, he emphasizes that there are strong cultural factors at play that favor disaster. And he believes that some of these hold-backs can be overcome. The payoff would be large because overshoot will end one way or another; it’s better if we get to choose how.
Making a positive change: PDF to HTML
Over 100 participants attended our live session on digital accessibility last November. As communicators, we must take care to make our content as easy to understand and accessible as possible. In order to promote designing accessibility into the system and making people care about accessibility, let’s continue the discussion. PDF and climate change Perhaps the most surprising outcome from the panel was about Carbon Dioxide emission in relation to the use of PDF as a communication medium.
William Rees - Inroads
Modern techno-industrial society is in a state of dangerous ecological overshoot – too many people are consuming and polluting too much on a finite planet. It is not too late, however, to take a lesson in sustainability from the tiny tropical island society of Tikopia. Hardly anyone has ever heard of Tikopia, but its history should be known by everyone who cares about the future of Earth.
Overshoot
Modern techno-industrial society is in a state of dangerous ecological overshoot – too many people are consuming and polluting too much on a finite planet. It is not too late, however, to take a lesson in sustainability from the tiny tropical island society of Tikopia. Hardly anyone has ever heard of Tikopia, but its history should be known by everyone who cares about the future of Earth.
Overshoot : Cognitive obsolescence and the population conundrum
Record: found Abstract: found Article: found Is Open Access Publication date Created: Publication date (Electronic): Bookmark There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience. The human enterprise is in overshoot; we exceed the long-term carrying capacity of Earth and are degrading the biophysical basis of our own existence.
Decline and Fall
Vladimir Putin has decried the ‘decadent West’ as destined to fail as a result of its degeneracy. Fears of decadence are not new. When describing America or ‘the West’ more broadly, ‘decadence’ is often invoked. Certain factions in Western democracies fret that, as economic power shifts towards Asia, their once-powerful societies have been irrevocably diminished and are rife with inertia.
The human eco-predicament: Overshoot and the population conundrum
The human enterprise is in overshoot, depleting essential ecosystems faster than they can regenerate and polluting the ecosphere beyond nature’s assimilative capacity. Overshoot is a meta-problem that is the cause of most symptoms of eco-crisis, including climate change, landscape degradation and biodiversity loss. The proximate driver of overshoot is excessive energy and material ‘throughput’ to serve the global economy.
War and sustainability: Dispelling the renewable energy illusion
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EU public consultation on Commission’s review of the RoHS Directive
The European Commission is currently seeking public comment as part of its review of the Restriction of Hazardous Substances in Electrical and Electronic Equipment Directive (Directive 2011/65/EU) (the RoHS Directive). The aim of the RoHS Directive is to reduce the risk to human and environmental health by restricting the use of certain hazardous substances in electronics which can be substituted by safer alternatives.
COP26: Arrêter le changement climatique et autres illusions
4 décembre 2021 3h00 Mis à jour à 4h00 William E. Rees Professeur émérite, Université de Colombie-Britannique DES UNVERSITAIRES / Il ne fallait pas s’attendre à des progrès significatifs de la COP26 en matière d'atténuation du changement climatique. Il existe des obstacles fondamentaux qui empêchent les changements profonds et rapides que préconisent les scientifiques. La plupart des pays adhèrent à des politiques de croissance économique – qui créent un dépassement écologique.
COP-26: Stopping Climate Change and Other Illusions
By William E. Rees, originally published by Buildings & Cities Community Website October 29, 2021 Measured atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa Observatory. Note: red = the monthly mean values; black = the same, after correction for the average seasonal cycle. Do not expect significant progress from COP-26 on climate change mitigation. There are fundamental barriers that prevent the deep and rapid changes that scientists advocate.
Urban ecological footprints: Why cities cannot be sustainable-And why they are a key to sustainability
Urban ecological footprints: Why cities cannot be sustainable—And why they are a key to sustainability
To Save Ourselves, We’ll Need This Very Different Economy
The pandemic is a big problem. Climate change is an even bigger problem. But the meta-problem is ecological overshoot. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners Join The Tyee’s Debate-a-Palooza, Live on Thursday Tune in online for commentary that feels like watching the leaders’ debate in a bar with smart friends. The Run Is Back. Join Us The most important issues of the federal election from our award-winning newsletter. Starting Aug. 26.
To Save Ourselves, We’ll Need This Very Different Economy
The pandemic is a big problem. Climate change is an even bigger problem. But the meta-problem is ecological overshoot. Announcements, Events & more from Tyee and select partners On Now at MOA: Reflecting on Art and Life after the Great East Japan Earthquake Recovery from disaster is a long process, as this Museum of Anthropology exhibition demonstrates. Open until Sept. 19.
Through the Eye of a Needle: An Eco-Heterodox Perspective on the Renewable Energy Transition
Editorial published on 26 January 2022, see Energies 2022, 15(3), 889. Comment published on 28 January 2022, see Energies 2022, 15(3), 964. Comment published on 28 January 2022, see Energies 2022, 15(3), 971. Open AccessOpinion by Megan K. Seibert 1,* and William E.
Manor Organic Farm Shop
Member offer: Receive a complimentary pack of homemade sausages when you spend £30. Show your membership card. If shopping online, please get in touch by emailing james@manororganicfarm.co.uk Manor Organic Farm Shop is a family-run business nestled within a working organic farm. As you drive up the farm track, past the animals and towards the small car park, it’s clear you’re visiting a genuine farm shop rather than an outlet with nothing more than agricultural pretensions.
Yes, the Climate Crisis May Wipe out Six Billion People
“Carbon emissions may continue to rise, the polar ice caps may continue to melt, crop yields may continue to decline, the world’s forests may continue to burn, coastal cities may continue to sink under rising seas and droughts may continue to wipe out fertile farmlands, but the messiahs of hope assure us that all will be right in the end.
Survival 2100 By William Rees
The Way Forward: Survival 2100 By William Rees 23 June, 2012 Solutions Photo Credit/ European Environment Agency A man and child garden in Ireland’s first ecovillage. The village aims to be self-sufficient in food, with residents growing their own fruit and vegetables. The author’s Survival 2100 plan calls for the continued pursuit of local resilience and the diversification of local economies.
Coping With CoViD-19, Acknowledging The Real Plague
Modern society is ecologically dysfunctional: When cultural norms are radically anomalous, ‘normal’ is pathology and its solutions merely reproduce the problem. As I watch the CoViD-19 saga unfold, I have to keep reminding myself that humans are short-sighted by nature. We are mostly concerned about whatever affects us right here and right now. (Economists say we ‘discount’ both future possibilities and distant events.) Moreover, as social animals, we ‘socially construct’ what we take to be real.
The Earth Is Telling Us We Must Rethink Our Growth Society
By William E. Rees, originally published by The Tyee April 7, 2020 As the pandemic builds, most people, led by government officials and policy wonks, perceive the threat solely in terms of human health and its impact on the national economy. Consistent with the prevailing vision, mainstream media call almost exclusively on physicians and epidemiologists, financiers and economists to assess the consequences of the viral outbreak.
The Earth Is Telling Us We Must Rethink Our Growth Society
As the pandemic builds, most people, led by government officials and policy wonks, perceive the threat solely in terms of human health and its impact on the national economy. Consistent with the prevailing vision, mainstream media call almost exclusively on physicians and epidemiologists, financiers and economists to assess the consequences of the viral outbreak.
The new economy needs YOU
It’s becoming more obvious every day. Capitalism is failing and our governments are proving incapable of solving the systemic problems that plague our societies. The state has become the servant of capital, chasing growth at any cost - whilst ignoring the damage that ‘externalities’ cause to our life support system - the Earth! Underlying all this is a prevalent worldview which pitches humanity as separate from nature.
Don’t Call Me a Pessimist on Climate Change. I Am a Realist
By William E. Rees, originally published by The Tyee November 12, 2019 No one wants to be the downer at the party, and some would say that I am an unreformed pessimist. But consider this — pessimism and optimism are mere states of mind that may or may not be anchored in reality. I would prefer to be labeled a realist, someone who sees things as they are, who has a healthy respect for good data and solid analysis (or at least credible theory). Why is this important?
Don’t Call Me a Pessimist on Climate Change. I Am a Realist
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Don’t Call Me a Pessimist on Climate Change. I Am a Realist
Analysis | Energy | Environment To see our fate clearly, we must face these hard facts about energy, growth and governance. Part one of two. William E. Rees 11 Nov 2019 | TheTyee.ca William E. Rees is professor emeritus of human ecology and ecological economics at the University of British Columbia. No one wants to be the downer at the party, and some would say that I am an unreformed pessimist.
Yes, the Climate Crisis May Wipe out Six Billion People
“Carbon emissions may continue to rise, the polar ice caps may continue to melt, crop yields may continue to decline, the world’s forests may continue to burn, coastal cities may continue to sink under rising seas and droughts may continue to wipe out fertile farmlands, but the messiahs of hope assure us that all will be right in the end.
Yes, the Climate Crisis May Wipe out Six Billion People
“Carbon emissions may continue to rise, the polar ice caps may continue to melt, crop yields may continue to decline, the world’s forests may continue to burn, coastal cities may continue to sink under rising seas and droughts may continue to wipe out fertile farmlands, but the messiahs of hope assure us that all will be right in the end.
Yes, the Climate Crisis May Wipe out Six Billion People
“Carbon emissions may continue to rise, the polar ice caps may continue to melt, crop yields may continue to decline, the world’s forests may continue to burn, coastal cities may continue to sink under rising seas and droughts may continue to wipe out fertile farmlands, but the messiahs of hope assure us that all will be right in the end.
Canada’s First Nations
Canada’s treatment of its indigenous peoples has been described as ‘cultural genocide’. Documenting the effects of the Indian residential school system (governmental boarding schools for indigenous children), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) recently defined reconciliation as ‘establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples’.
Consumerism is 'eating the future'
By Andy Coghlan We’re a gloomy lot, with many of us insisting that there’s nothing we can do personally about global warming, or that the human race is over-running the planet like a plague. But according to leading ecologists speaking this week in Albuquerque at the annual meeting of the Ecological Society of America, few of us realise that the main cause of the current environmental crisis is human nature.
Local View: 'Guilt by accusation:' yeah, the Nazis used that, too
Large numbers of public people, including members of Congress who all have taken oaths to preserve and protect our precious Constitution, are proclaiming a new legal principle: guilt by accusation.This is precisely the theory that justified the Nazi and Soviet murders of scores of millions of perfectly innocent people (and by lesser despots).
Canada’s First Nations
Documenting the effects of the Indian residential school system (governmental boarding schools for indigenous children), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) recently defined reconciliation as ‘establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples’. The Commission determined that this is a relationship that Canada does not presently have. The country is at an important moment in its relationship with First Nations.
Restoring Canada’s First Nations
Documenting the effects of the Indian residential school system (governmental boarding schools for indigenous children), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) recently defined reconciliation as ‘establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples’. The Commission determined that this is a relationship that Canada does not presently have. The country is at an important moment in its relationship with First Nations.
Canada’s First Nations
Documenting the effects of the Indian residential school system (governmental boarding schools for indigenous children), the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Canada (2015) recently defined reconciliation as ‘establishing and maintaining a mutually respectful relationship between Aboriginal and non-Aboriginal peoples’. The Commission determined that this is a relationship that Canada does not presently have. The country is at an important moment in its relationship with First Nations.
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