Name____________________________
AP Environmental Science
Your Ecological Footprint
An Ecological Footprint is a measure of how
much area of biologically productive land and water
an individual, population or activity requires to
produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb
the waste it generates, using prevailing technology
and resource management practices. The Ecological
Footprint is usually measured in global hectares.
Because trade is global, an individual or country's Footprint includes land or sea from all over the
world. Ecological Footprint is often referred to in short form as Footprint. "Ecological Footprint"
and "Footprint" are proper nouns and thus should always be capitalized.
Estimating your overall impact on the environment is a
daunting task when you consider
all the variables involved.
Environmental scientists have developed a tool that does just
this
however, and presents the information in a manner that is
easily visualized despite the underlying
complexities. It is known
as an “ecological footprint” calculator, and it describes the area of land
needed to supply the resources used and wastes produced by each individual. Nature’s ability to
provide resources and process wastes is known as “natural capital”, and the goal of sustainable
living is to use resources wisely so as to avoid depleting natural capital, enabling it to be available
to future generations. Ecological footprint analysis allows us to examine per- capita (per-person)
utilization of natural capital (globally or by nation), the amount of natural capital available
(globally or by nation), and the surplus/deficit in natural capital globally or in individual countries.
We can then examine the impact of humans on the Earth’s natural capital on the whole or by
individual nation.
Ecological footprints are calculated by examining the amount of land used for:
(1) Cultivating food crops
(2) Grazing livestock
(3) Growing timber
(4) Harvesting fish and other organisms from oceans
(5) Housing, infrastructure (roads, bridges), transportation, shopping, energy
production
(6) Sequestering in trees the carbon dioxide produced by driving, electricity
usage, etc.
By summing all of these land areas, an individual’s ecological footprint can be calculated. So how
much natural capital is there per person? If we take the current global population and divide it by
the number of acres (or hectares, in metric measurement) of biologically productive land, we find
that there are currently 1.8 global hectares (4.5 global acres.) of productive land on the planet per
person. Therefore, in order to live sustainably, each person on the planet should have an ecological
footprint of 1.8 global hectares or less. The average Ecological Footprint per person worldwide is
2.6 global hectares (6.5 global acres). While individuals in developing countries often have
footprints at or below this value, citizens of highly industrialized countries often exceed it by a
sizable amount. The average American has an Ecological Footprint of 9.0 global hectares (23 acres)
– the size of 171⁄2 American football fields.
Go to the website: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/
Here is their mission statement:
In 2003, Global Footprint Network, a 501c (3) nonprofit organization, was established to
enable a sustainable future where all people have the opportunity to live satisfying lives
within the means of one planet.
1. Go to the section Footprint Basics and read through the Overview. This will provide some
information about the components of the ecological footprint: The area of the earth needed to
supply you with food, clothing, housing, energy, timber and other materials, various products,
and seafood.
2. Then click on the link for Personal Footprint. This leads to a quiz where you will enter a number
of factors in your life that determine your ecological footprint. When you begin you will be
asked for a location – use the United States. You can also save your quiz answers for later if you
enter an email address. (If you do this, please use your school account.) Then work through the
quiz as honestly as you can. Don’t take the shortcuts that are offered – try your best to provide
as much detail as possible, and estimate the values as best you can.
3. After you are done you should see a report like the one here that I got. The top left has an
estimate based on the number of earths that would be needed to allow everyone on the planet
to live as I do. The panel below that displays the areas of land and water needed to support me.
While the text says “acres”, the graphic that shows is actually in hectares, one block for each
hectare needed to support me. Remember that one hectare is equal to about 2.47 acres, so my
footprint of 24.6 acres equals about 9.96 hectares – slightly higher than the average American
footprint. The top right shows the component of your footprint that corresponds to the kinds of
services that you use.
Print out the page that shows your ecological footprint.
Answer the following questions:
a) How many Planet Earths would it take to provide enough resources if everyone on Earth
lived like you?
b) It would take approx. 5 Planet Earths to provide enough resources if everyone on Earth
lived like the average American. How does your result compare? Were you surprised by this?
Why or why not?
4. If you move the mouse over the box in the top right, it will show you the percent in each of
the categories. Write these down, and then estimate the proportion in each of the categories
in the box at the bottom left. Record your estimates.
Categories
% of Total Ecological Footprint
FOOD
SHELTER
MOBILITY
GOODS
SERVICES
5. Click on the link “explore scenarios” that appears in the bottom right panel. This lets you see
the effect of changes that you could make in how you live your life. Consider each of the
possible changes. Click each one and see the effects of these changes (upper left hand side of
screen).
c) Which has the biggest impact in your ecological footprint? Why do you think this is?
d) Which of these changes do you think would be the easiest for you to adopt, and why?
e) Which of these changes do you think would be the hardest for you to adopt, and why? !
6. You can see in my footprint analysis (and probably yours) that the component for “energy
land” is the largest by far. There are two parts to this, one obvious and one less so. The
obvious part is the land required for things like petroleum production or power plants, but
the calculation also includes a component for the “carbon footprint.” Read about carbon
footprint in the link under Footprint Basics.
f) What is the difference between someone’s carbon footprint and the carbon component of
the “energy land” component of your Ecological Footprint?
7. Go to Data and Results under Footprint Science. Click on “Data Tables from the 2010 Edition
of the National Footprint Accounts” link to view the Ecological Footprint and biocapacity for
almost 150 nations. Compare your country to three countries with similar standards of
living (compare U.S./Canada to countries in Western Europe) and three countries with
different standards of living (compare U.S./Canada to developing countries in South
America, Africa, or Asia). List the per-capita ecological footprints (in acres), current natural
capital capacity, and deficit/surplus value for your country and your six chosen comparison
countries in the table below.
g) In today’s global economy, goods flow from one country to another like never before,
allowing the natural capital from one country to be utilized in many other countries. Some
have argued that it is unethical for developed countries to fuel their consumptive lifestyles by
using natural capital from poorer, developing countries. Do you agree with this viewpoint?
Why or why not?
8. We are interested in knowing how we compare to other Americans. Are we relatively light
on the land or are we, as Rees (2003) says, “a blot on the land”? Using the following formula,
calculate your percentage difference (whether positive or negative) from the average
American (again, that is 9.6 hectares).
i) The percentage difference between your footprint and the average American is? j) Do you have any immediate reactions regarding how much land is required to support
you?
Please answer all questions above, and then write a reflection on your thoughts about this footprint
activity.