– Written by Henry Challen –
In just how bad a state are we leaving our planet for future generations? Is it true that we currently live in a “toxic soup” of industrial chemicals? How do we get Canadians to truly care about their ecological footprint? I’d been wrestling with these deeply troubling questions during the weeks leading up to December 10th, 2024, when I had the privilege of speaking with Dr. Trevor Hancock, a pioneer in Canadian public health and sustainability.
As a student in York University’s JD/MES program, I have been exploring Ecological Footprint analysis as part of the Ecological Footprint Initiative. Ecological Footprint was first developed by Dr. Bill Rees and his then PhD student, Dr. Mathis Wackernagel at the University of British Columbia. Ecological Footprint analysis is a measure of the material consumption and waste production of a given individual or population, such as a city, province, or nation. Ecological Footprint “can estimate the exclusive area of productive land and water ecosystems required to produce the resources that the population consumes and to assimilate some of its wastes.” (Rees, 2010).
As a law student, I am particularly interested in how data can be used to support claims of pollution, supporting both the “precautionary principle”; the idea that burden of proof regarding safety should be placed on the producer, and the “polluter pays principle”; the idea that the polluter is responsible for the cost of their pollution, rather than the taxpayer. Having accurate data allows both of these principles, widely accepted by international law, to be accurately enforced. In addition, I am interested in how the Ecological Footprint can be used to shift Canadians’ moral perception regarding their own complicity in the global environmental crises, and how this can lead to legal changes.
Dr. Hancock’s Interest in Ecological Footprint
I first came across Dr. Hancock through his articles on the Pollution Gap in Ecological footprint, the Health Effects of Pollutants which severely challenged my preconceived notions regarding the role of Ecological Footprint. Dr. Hancock has devoted his career to advancing public health, sustainability, and ecological well-being. From his early work as a family physician to his leadership in academia and policy, Dr. Hancock has consistently challenged conventional paradigms, advocating for systemic change to ensure the health of both people and the planet. Dr. Hancock is interested in Ecological Footprint analysis due to its ability to help individuals and organizations monitor their sustainability on a global scale.
After graduating from the University of London with a medical degree, Dr. Hancock began his professional journey as a family doctor, practicing for four years before transitioning into academia and public health, hoping to solve the social and economic problems “upstream” from the diseases and injuries he was seeing in his practice (Graham, 2014). This odyssey to the root of the problem took many turns, even leading Dr. Hancock to become the first leader of the Green Party of Canada in the 1980s.
His passion for teaching and interdisciplinary learning then led him to York University, in Toronto, Ontario, where he spent fourteen years as a part-time professor in the Masters in Environmental Studies (MES) program (spending 80% of his time as a health promotion consultant), teaching courses on public health and health promotion. As an MES professor, Dr. Hancock emphasized the need to understand population health, public health systems, and the broad determinants of health.
In the early 2000s, Dr. Hancock moved to British Columbia and joined the Ministry of Health, where he contributed to shaping policies that addressed both individual and community health needs. Dr. Hancock then returned to teaching and worked at the University of Victoria, teaching public health until his retirement in 2018. Dr. Hancock remains involved in several volunteering organizations and writes a weekly blog.
Contributions to Public Health and Environmental Advocacy
Throughout his career, Dr. Hancock has sought to bridge the gap between public health and sustainability. He co-founded the Healthy Cities and Communities movement, which promotes urban planning and policies that prioritize well-being. His advocacy extends from the local to global stage, where he has called for “One Planet” systems that align human activity with the Earth’s ecological boundaries.
Dr. Hancock has also been an active participant in local sustainability initiatives specifically using Ecological Footprint. In Saanich, British Columbia, he collaborated with British Columbia Institute of Technology’s (BCIT) Jennie Moore, another disciple of Dr. Bill Rees, to develop the “eco City Footprint Tool” for ecological footprinting that “generates territorial and consumption-based greenhouse gas emission inventories”. Their work revealed that nearly 40% of the region’s footprint stems from food consumption, underscoring the importance of behavioral changes and the value of a sustainable diet in terms of both health and environmental benefits.
This subject led into a broader discussion of the ethical responsibilities of sustainability and the social frameworks that inhibit the sufficient changes that all reliable metrics implore humanity to make. Dr. Hancock believes that tools like Ecological Footprint are important as they allow people to make informed choices, rather than ‘being absolutist about it”. In addition, Ecological Footprint helps to combat the inundation of advertisements that consumers face daily, encouraging them to consume as a solution to life’s problems. For Dr. Hancock, “enough should be the principle guiding economics”, rather than more. The only unregulated growth that exists in nature is cancer, an often fatal condition for the host. Sustainability is therefore the only “natural” solution to our environmental crises.
Ecological Footprint and Sustainability
As an academic concerned about sustainability, Dr. Hancock is a committed supporter of Ecological Footprint. Dr. Hancock’s interest in Ecological Footprint emerged in the early 1990s, influenced by his involvement with the Canadian Physicians for the Environment (an organization which he co-founded) and his studies in environmental health. He became a leading advocate for using Ecological Footprint as a tool to measure humanity’s impact on the Earth. During our conversation, Dr. Hancock referred me to a 2002 paper by a Doctor of Medicine and Masters student, Susan Germaine, that produced the world’s first ecological footprint of a hospital: Lion’s Gate Hospital. The report tracked the material and waste products of the hospital, in classic Ecological Footprint-fashion. However, the report also found that the hospital was incinerating waste, including plastics and chlorines at low temperatures (as required by law), but at low temperatures, leading to the production of airborne “plasticizers”, known endocrine disruptors, as well as “toxins such as mercury and some pharmaceuticals into the environment”. In pointing to the report, Dr. Hancock explained how Ecological Footprint can be used as an important metric to evaluate a government’s impact of global Ecological Footprint and pollution. Another glaring example of this is the US military, the world’s largest polluter. If we are to solve our environmental crisis, the burden cannot solely be placed on producers and consumers, governmental organizations must be held accountable as well.
Faith, Community, and the Future
Dr. Hancock’s vision for Ecological Footprint extends beyond the legislature or the board room. He recognizes the role of faith communities in fostering respect for the Earth and its ecosystems and believes that these spiritual frameworks should be leveraged by Ecological Footprint to encompass the cultural and spiritual dimensions of sustainability
Whether through sermons or dialogues, he encourages a moral and ethical approach to environmental stewardship. In doing so, he believes that religious groups can take an active step in building the community required to continue to inspire action, challenging individuals and institutions to embrace a “One Planet” mindset. It is noteworthy, he adds, that a couple of faith communities are members of One Planet Saanich and are practicing what they preach.
Need for pollution metrics
While acknowledging Ecological Footprint’s utility in understanding resource consumption, Dr. Hancock argues that the metric cannot act as a stand-alone measure of sustainability. He likes to cite the statistician George Box, who once said “all models are wrong, some are useful”. Similarly, based on a long career that has included much work with indicators, Dr. Hancock believes that all indicators are wrong, but some are useful – and the Ecological Footprint is one of those. For instance, Ecological Footprint does not account for the impact of methane emissions, the loss of species, or the dispersal of toxic chemicals—critical components of the “triple planetary crisis” identified by the United Nations: climate change, biodiversity loss, and pollution.
Currently, the global market contains an estimated 350,000 synthetic chemicals, with nearly 70,000 introduced in the past decade (Hancock, 2024). Accordingly, we begin our lives in a toxic soup in our mother’s womb, and continue to interact with harmful human-made chemicals throughout our lives. These include persistent toxins and novel entities (which include GMOs and nano-particles) and are all substances with unknown long-term effects on ecosystems and health. Global estimates place the death toll from all forms of pollution at 9 million (with indoor and outdoor air pollution alone accounting for 6.7 million deaths and water pollution a further 1.4 million deaths), with more than 90% of these deaths occurring in the world’s low and middle income countries (Fuller et. al., 2022). Importantly, they add, “The total effects of pollution on health would undoubtedly be larger if more comprehensive health data could be generated, especially if all pathways for chemicals in the environment were identified and analyzed”.
Steven Donziger, environmental lawyer argues that many of these deaths are the result of immoral business practices that “privatize the profits, and socialize the costs to the most vulnerable people on the planet.” Dr. Hancock argues that without a true implementation of the precautionary principle, our global use of chemicals represents a “massive, unregulated experiment with dire consequences if left unchecked.” (Hancock, 2023).
Dr. Hancock’s critiques are rooted in a broader vision of sustainability that incorporates the principles of ecological economics and public health. He has highlighted the need for supplemental metrics to capture the full scope of human impact, including what he terms the “toxics footprint.” This concept emphasizes the persistent and bioaccumulative nature of industrial pollutants, which often evade traditional measures but have profound effects on ecosystems and human health.
Conclusion: A Legacy of Impact
Fellow British Columbian and Canadian Academic Wade Davis has said that in the face of global challenges such as climate change, “Pessimism is an indulgence, orthodoxy is the enemy of invention, despair an insult to the imagination.” (Davis, 2023). Dr. Trevor Hancock’s career is a testament to this message. Dr. Hancock is a prime example of the power of interdisciplinary thinking and passionate advocacy. Despite his intimate knowledge of the public health challenges facing the world, he continues to advocate for a healthier, more sustainable world.
He is continuing his journey from his early days as a family doctor “upstream” to the route of our society’s environmental problems. Dr. Hancock has consistently championed the integration of ecological and human health through leadership in public health and sustainability. His legacy and use of Ecological Footprint serve as a guiding light for those committed to creating a healthier, more sustainable future.
Sources
Ferriss, T. (2023, January 27). Famed Explorer Wade Davis—How to Become the Architect of Your Life, The Divine Leaf of Immortality, Rites of Passage, Voodoo Demystified, Optimism as the Purpose of Life, How to Be a Prolific Writer, Psychedelics, Monetizing the Creativity of Your Life, and More (#652). The Blog of Author Tim Ferriss. https://tim.blog/2023/01/27/wade-davis/
Fuller, Richard et al. (2022). Pollution and health: a progress update. Lancet Planet Health 2022; 6: e535–47
Graham, R. (2014). The pioneer, the activist: An interview with Trevor Hancock. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 2.
On top of our ecological footprint, we have toxics footprint—Victoria Times Colonist. December 3, 2023, from https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/trevor-hancock-we-carry-from-birth-a-body-burden-of-toxic-chemicals-that-we-add-to-along-the-way-7905326
Rees, W. (2010). What’s blocking sustainability? Human nature, cognition, and denial. Sustainability: Science, Practice and Policy, 6(2), 13–25. https://doi.org/10.1080/15487733.2010.11908046
We have no idea of the health effects of many pollutants—Victoria Times Colonist. April 14th, 2024, from https://www.timescolonist.com/opinion/trevor-hancock-we-still-have-no-idea-of-the-health-effects-of-many-pollutants-8598060