Ecological Footprints – Proposal Literature Review
Investigators assessed available web-based calculators and learning tools by examining their
methodology, user-friendliness, and applicability to local conditions. Several examples each of carbon
footprint calculators, general ecological footprint calculators, stormwater calculators, and backyard wildlife
habitat ranking programs illustrate different strengths and weaknesses for providing these services at a
community level.
Carbon Footprint has been defined as the sum of greenhouse gases produced to support human
activities, expressed in equivalent tons of carbon dioxide (CO2), although the concept of an ecological
footprint was developed as an area-based measurement (Wackernagel and Yount, 1998). One example of
a carbon footprint calculation is described in Carbon Neutrality at Purdue University (2007). That initiative
makes Purdue an institution particularly well-situated to collaborate with the Wabash River Enhancement
Corporation (WREC) on the proposed website. Using some of the evaluation criteria of Kenny and Gray
(2009), we reviewed many web-based carbon footprint calculators. There are three primary sources of
carbon calculators: for-profit businesses who sell carbon credits, non-governmental organizations/nonprofits, and government agencies. In general, all of the reviewed calculators, allow estimation of CO2
emissions, mainly from home energy consumption, transportation, food preferences, goods and services.
Some websites also provide useful information regarding climate change and its impacts on the Earth, as
well as measures to reduce carbon footprint (green energy, recycling, etc.). The websites vary in their
simplicity and amount of time required to generate results. Visually, some of these resources are very
attractive with appropriate use of graphics (e.g University of California – Berkeley). Weaknesses found in
most of the calculators, like the one at The Nature Conservancy (Nature, 2010), neglect to explain the
methodology behind their calculations or reveal exactly what the end result means in units that the average
person can comprehend.
Another example of this is the British company Carbon Footprint™
(http://www.carbonfootprint.com/calculator.aspx, Carbon, 2010). This website includes analysis for house,
cars, flights, motorbikes, bus & rail and secondary (food preferences, fashion, packaging, and recreation
among others). It also offers a business carbon footprint calculator. Some food choices, use of electronics
and hot water are excluded from the calculation. We noted that meat consumption and air travel should be
important factors in one’s carbon footprint, but they are not included in most calculators. The U.S.
Department of Transportation also has a calculator, but it is only to calculate carbon emissions for driving
(www.fta.dot.gov/planning/planning_environment_8523.html) based on miles per gallon of the car and the
distance driven. This information would be especially useful if incorporated into other calculators. A benefit
of most of the calculators we found is that they suggest solutions for reducing one’s carbon footprint.
We also found several ecological footprint calculators, which attempt to give the user a comprehensive
estimate of their environmental impact. The Global Footprint Network expresses this in terms of a land
area. On their website, they incorporate BBS, blogs and connections with businesses to help meet their
mission. The Berkeley Institute asked the most detailed questions out of all of the websites. Green Carbon
Fund (www.0clife.cn/index.jsp), a Chinese-based NGO has a Zero-Carbon Life website that provides
multiple calculators for individuals, households, traveling, meetings and industrial production based in
China. Most lack adequate explanations of methodology, references for data used, and units that are easily
comprehendible. The most remarkable weakness of currently existing ecological footprint calculators is
that they almost completely ignore water usage (Conservation, 2009, and Global, 2009). One calculator
that is overall very thorough is http://www.lowimpactliving.com. The data is displayed in an engaging and
encouraging way – users can see how their footprint will change if they undertake an eco-friendly project or
investment. However, despite the many calculated parameters, the Low-Impact Living Index (LILI, 2010)
does not include the impact of food choices. The U.S. EPA has a Climate Leaders program (U.S. EPA,
2010), which provides comprehensive sustainability planning assistance to companies. This program
underscores the benefits of facilitated progress-tracking, in order to maintain positive long-term changes. A
major strength of the EPA calculator is that it has ways to reduce emissions built into the calculator. The
Project DX website (www.projectdx.com) offers a localized viewpoint of carbon footprint by allowing users
to utilize tools looking at their own land/household and comparing these with their neighbors. It is a
response of the local environmental championship "Grey to Green Initiative" which focuses on local
watershed conservation. Project DX focuses on emotional, social, and financial incentives necessary to
change behavior. This website provides different calculators, potential solutions, and equipment vendors'
information. It provides assessment and solutions for a particular property instead of only giving
generalized suggestions. Patagonia ‘s “Footprint Chronicles”
(http://www.patagonia.com/web/us/footprint/index.jsp?slc=en_US&sct=US) traces material growth and
harvesting, production, and retail for its products. Other ecological footprint websites include
Myfootprint.org, Footprintnetwork.org, and Islandwood.org. These do include an assessment of the impact
of water usage.
There are many stormwater calculators available on the web. Project DX calculates a stormwater
footprint based on impervious surface area and average rainfall, which is potentially integrated into the
“stormwater marketplace”. The website Waterfootprint.org, provides information on country and corporate
water footprints while allowing the user to calculate a personal water footprint. Results are given in cubic
meters of water use. It includes water footprint information for products (e.g. coffee, cotton, energy), but
stormwater runoff and land use are not included. The “Retain the Rain” calculator (River Action, n.d.) is
family-oriented, with bright colors, animation, sound effects, and appealing graphics. It gives the user a
feeling of connection to and responsibility for care of the Upper Mississippi Watershed. It could be improved
by allowing people to calculate their footprint before they begin any projects. On the other hand, the focus
on rain barrels, swales, rain gardens, and other projects does inspire behavior change, rather than focusing
on a problem. Simple home footprint calculators (and one similar calculator that children can use for their
school stormwater footprint) include (www.h20conserve.org), Greater Goods (2008), Vermont Association
of Conservation Districts (2007), and Clean Water Education Partnership (n.d.); the latter is the school
calculator. The calculations use a standard of a 1-inch rainfall per 24 hr. period, and involve area
measurements (sq. ft.) of the building, resulting in a number of gallons of runoff per unit time or per unit
area. Finally, Toronto Homeowners (Riversides, n.d.) have the option of a more sophisticated calculator,
which includes a baseline footprint, determining a “target” volume to control (goal-setting), and finally the
effect of various projects on their footprint. The Center for Neighborhood Technology’s (CNT) Green Values
stormwater calculator that is available at http://greenvalues.cnt.org/calculator/calculator.php, asks about
green interventions and site statistics and gives both hydrologic results (water discharge) and also financial
details (benefits of making the green interventions such as roof drains to raingardens and replacing lawn
with native landscaping), through its stormwater toolbox. Another tool that has been made available
through Purdue University is the Long Term Hydrologic Impact Analysis (LTHIA,
http://cobweb.ecn.purdue.edu/~watergen/wcams_10/index.html). This website allows a user to zoom into
an area (possibly their farm or their own backyard) on a digital map; and after selecting a given stream, the
program will output many variables. A user can then use a tool to hypothetically change the land use in
their area and then view the proposed changes to each of these conditions. The EPA website
http://epa.gov/nps/lid/ offers ways to reduce large amounts of runoff from new developments in natural,
innovative, and cost effective ways. Many cities have a stormwater tax and then offer credits, reductions in
the tax, for citizens who reduce their personal runoff. An important feature of the Tippecanoe County
website should be very specific information for our area. Examples that can serve as a reference for our
project of this can be found on the Minneapolis web site
http://www.ci.minneapolis.mn.us/stormwater/index.asp and this website which provides detailed information
on Maryland’s waters and the effects of runoff
http://www.mde.state.md.us/Programs/WaterPrograms/SedimentandStormwater/index.asp. One of the
most useful sites we found, http://logan.cnt.org/calculator/calculator.php, calculates the runoff volume and
price differences resulting from implementing different improvements such as rain gardens and barrels.
NRCS (2004) incorporates soil properties into its runoff calculations.
A backyard wildlife habitat is one way to offset an ecological footprint by increasing the productivity
of one’s property. It is an important strategy for increasing connectivity of urban green spaces (Rudd, Valla,
& Schaefer, 2002). While general guidelines can be created on how to develop one, the plants that should
be used are highly variable and specific to the locale. The National Wildlife Federation has a website
(http://www.nwf.org/Get-Outside/Outdoor-Activities/Garden-for-Wildlife/Create-a-Habitat.aspx) that gives
ideas for many different locations, such as a college campus or home. It gives general ideas to improve the
species richness of a back yard, such as adding a birdhouse or adding a birdbath or small pond. It has an
easy to use interface, and it is pleasing to look at. The NWF offers backyard Wildlife Habitat Certification for
a $20 fee (includes membership) for homeowners who create “havens for neighborhood wildlife in their
very own yards.” The Natural Resources Conservation Service
(http://www.nrcs.usda.gov/Feature/backyard/wildhab.html) defines a backyard wildlife habitat as well as
more specific guidelines. It also gives recommendations based on attracting desired species, such as birds
or bees. It also provides certification information. The University of Maine Cooperative Extention
(http://www.umext.maine.edu/onlinepubs/htmpubs/7137.htm) is an excellent resource on how to make a
wildlife habitat for climates similar to that of Maine. It also provides detail about features other than flora
and fauna, such as brush piles and water features. As with the NRCS website, the publications are
available for download in a PDF format. This is the most comprehensive site that we found. The Indiana
Wildlife Society (http://www.indianawildlife.org/wildlifeHabitat.htm) also certifies different wildlife habitatshome, schools, neighborhoods and places of worship. It gives the four basic needs for wildlife certificationfood, water, cover, and places to raise young- and how to integrate those into private spaces. Their
program’s strengths are that it has a stronger local context and it also reaches out to a wide variety of
landowners. There are also smaller-scale wildlife habitat websites such as Backyard Wildlife Habitat
(http://www.backyardwildlifehabitat.info/index.htm) that offer tips on how to design a backyard habitat. A
serious weakness of the website is that it does not mention where it is located. Telling users to use specific
plants or techniques in the wrong ecological region could lead to failure of the habitat, or worse ecological
implications such as spreading invasive species. Our website will provide information about what kinds on
plants are native to Northwest Indiana and would make good wildlife habitat. The WHIP or Wildlife Habitat
Incentives program is a program affiliated with the USDA provides funding and support, but is limited to
Private agricultural lands, nonindustrial private forest land, and Tribal lands. Focusing on smaller programs
for the backyard we find incentives that are smaller (Cerna, 2009). For a fee of $25 dollars, the Audubon
Society in Portland will provide a site visit by a backyard wildife habitat expert. Discounts are provided to
facilitate changes recommended to develop the habitat. Certification with this organization involves three
levels: silver, gold, and platinum. With each level come more benefits and incentives through free and
discounted items (Audubon Society). This has the advantage of being more of a community - based
program. The incentive through coupons and gift cards to local stores may be more favorable than the
generic NWF membership and subscription. The NWF provides users with the opportunity to create a
visible profile of one’s yard for comparison with others. The University of Tennessee is a great resource for
identification of food sources for different species. They also give building plans for bird and bat houses.
One thing this article lacks is recognition of other mammal, and reptile visitors (Harper). Another article,
(“Why Build a Backyard”) is a useful collection of habitat suggestions presented in a visually appealing way,
although some suggested uses of water to attract wildlife are not sustainable. Another website,
http://www.plantnative.org/, provides an inventory of native plants for the selected region. A community
website provides sample plans for landscaping native plant species for King County, Washington
(http://green.kingcounty.gov/GoNative/Plan.aspx?Act=list). We determined that the level of complexity of
this site was too high and that a recommendation of plant combinations and relative ratios would be better
suited to our website. The backyard habitat concept lacks the quantitative basis of footprint calculators, but
nevertheless will be an important component of the sustainable evolution of our community.
Our website can offer a valuable service if it focuses on the Upper Wabash River watershed and
displays details tailored to the local user. Potential tools include an interactive map showcasing practices
adopted by other users, a water cycle module, and a storm water footprint calculator with inputs for sizes of
impervious surfaces on an individual property. Due to the importance of transparency concerning sound
methodology, our website will provide an introduction explaining the goal and scope of the project and the
methods used to calculate results. We will include specific and reliable information about possible actions
to take and best practices according to each field (carbon, stormwater, or habitat).
Results will be expressed in both environmental and economic terms. Finally, our website will be userfriendly. It will present graphical results not only for individuals but also in reference to state average,
national average, target, and scale of progress.
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