William Rees

Fellow, Ecology & Resilience

Communities, Ecology

William Rees is a Professor in the School of Community and Regional Planning at the University of British Columbia (UBC). His teaching and research emphasize the public policy and planning implications of global environmental trends and the necessary ecological conditions for sustaining socioeconomic activity. Much of his work is in the realm of ecological economics and human ecology. He is best known in this field for his invention of 'ecological footprint analysis', a quantitative tool that estimates humanity's ecological impact on the ecosphere in terms of appropriated ecosystem (land and water) area. Dr. Rees was awarded a UBC Killam Research Prize (1996) in acknowledgement of his research achievements.

videos

Bill Rees Epiphany

length: 3:14   credit: innerflamefilms

Post Carbon Fellow Bill Rees Story in animation.

audio

Bill Rees speech to Vancouver World Federalist meeting on Radio Ecoshock Show

length: 53:00   credit: Radio Ecoshockdownload

This is a speech by Dr. Bill Rees delivered April 15th at the World Federalist meeting in Vancouver.  It goes a long way to explaining why we fail to act, even as the facts become clear and indisputable.  He covers the three brain theory, the limits of evolution, memes, Peak Oil, and cultural myths, plus some thoughts on solutions - mostly contraction and convergence.  Rees is one of the few academics more or less calling for a planned economic collapse.

The 53 minute speech is featured in this week's Radio Ecoshock show, broadcast by 20 college and community radio stations in the U.S. and Canada, plus Green 960 AM in San Francisco.

Download a transcript

Latest Publications

Bill Rees' Last Lecture

William Rees    Feb 02, 2012   

By Justin Richie, The Tyee Last December, after more than 40 years teaching at the School of Community and Regional Planning (SCARP) at the University of British Columbia, Bill Rees gave his last lecture as a full-time … >>

CULTURE AND BEHAVIOR: The Human Nature of Unsustainability

William Rees    Aug 30, 2011   

EXCERPT: Humans may pride themselves as being the best evidence for intelligent life on Earth, but an alien observer would record that the (un)sustainability conundrum has the global community floundering in a swamp of … >>

The Post Carbon Reader

William Rees

How do population, water, energy, food, and climate issues impact one another? What can we do to address one problem without making the others worse? The Post Carbon Reader features essays by some of the world’s most … >>

press coverage

Rees on #Occupy at Alternet

William Rees  

Post Carbon Fellow Bill Rees' recent speech to journalists drawing parallels between the #occupy movement and political ineria on climate changes was reported in this article on Alternet. From the article: Canadian … >>