Ecological Footprint Activity
Environmental Science
Name _____________________
Procedure
1. Go to this website: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/
2. Under Footprint Basics, read Introduction and Overview. Then define ecological footprint in your own words. What
does it actually measure?
3. Under Footprint Basics, go to Personal Footprint and take the ecological footprint quiz for yourself. Enter as a new
user, create your avatar and always enter the more detailed information. If you are asked a question that refers to
units of measure, you can choose your answer by looking at the words on the sliding scale (far or not far, a lot or a little,
for example).
4. Record your ecological footprint.
a. How many planet Earth’s would be required if everyone lived like you? _______
b. Break down your ecological footprint:
____% Food ____% Shelter ____% Mobility ____% Goods ____% Services
c. How many global acres of the Earth’s productive area do you require? _______
d. Put the following in order from most land used to least land used: energy land, crop land, grazing land,
forest land, built up land, fishing grounds
e. How many tons of carbon dioxide do you generate? ________ The Earth can absorb some of our carbon
dioxide, but not at the rate we are producing it now. So, the fewer tons you personally produce, the
better. We will study this more later.
5. Click on “edit your footprint.”
a. How low can you get your footprint to be? Record it here: _________
b. List five things that you can do to make your footprint lower.
6. Click on “explore scenarios.” Click on the checkboxes one at a time.
a. How do the listed activities affect your ecological footprint in terms of the number of planet Earth’s needed?
b. If every American did only one of these activities, which would be the most effective in reducing our
ecological footprint?
c. Could you commit to doing one or more of these activities? If so, which one(s)? If not, why?
Reflection Questions:
1. We will gather data from everyone in the class concerning their footprint in global acres.
a. What is the total footprint of the class?
b. What is the average footprint of the class?
c. How does this compare to the average American’s footprint (23.7 global acres/person)?
d. Biocapacity is the capacity of an area to provide resources and absorb wastes. The total biocapacity of
the Earth is estimated to be 4.4 global acres/person. Is our class running an ecological deficit or an
ecological surplus?
2. Think about the fairness of world land use. The U.S. has an ecological footprint of 23.7 acres per person while
the 35 low income countries average 2.0 acres per person.
a. Do you think there should be laws governing how large a country’s or individuals ecological footprint?
Explain.
b. Are there other ways to convince people to reduce their ecological footprint? Explain.
3. According to the Footprint Network, “Earth Overshoot Day marks an unfortunate milestone: the day in which we
exhaust our ecological budget for the year. Once we pass this day [each year], humanity will have demanded all
the ecological services – from filtering CO2 to producing the raw materials for food – that nature can provide
this year. From that point until the end of the year, we meet our ecological demand by liquidating resource
stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.” The Earth first experienced overshoot on
December 19, 1987. In 2007 overshoot day occurred on October 6, 2007.
Use the following formula to calculate overshoot day:
[ world biocapacity / ecological footprint ] x 365 = Ecological Debt Day
(If the Ecological Debt Day is calculated to be Day 10, then that is January 10th. For October 6, 2007, the 279th
day of the year, the Ecological Debt Day was Day 279.)
a. When is overshoot day for the world? (world biocapacity=4.4 global acres/person; ecological footprint =5.5)
b. When is overshoot day for the U.S.? (U.S. biocapacity= 11.7 global acres/person; US ecological
footprint =23.7)
c. When is overshoot day for our class? (U.S. biocapacity=11.7 global acres/person; class ecological
footprint=answer to reflection question 1b)
4. Sustainability is an important concept in Environmental Science. It means that resources are not being used up
faster than they can be replenished, and that wastes are not being produced faster than they can be processed by
the earth. Are Americans living a sustainable lifestyle? Are YOU living a sustainable lifestyle? How will this affect
future Americans? Explain.