Eco Footprint Exercise
RPTS 402 Lab
Purpose: To increase awareness of the ways in which daily human activity influences the
environment.
Objectives:
1) Take eco footprint quizzes from different sources.
2) Calculate and consider your scores and how they relate to average scores in other
places and among other people.
3) Evaluate the activities being used to measure and create your score.
4) Determine how behavior can influence an eco footprint.
5) Consider ways that policy, planning and design for leisure places (e.g., parks,
resorts, backyards) can encourage reductions in the eco footprint.
Tasks:
1) Complete two Eco Footprint quizzes from different on-line sources (google ecofootprint). Record the sources, your score for each, and any other measures of
resource use (e.g., number of acres you require, the number of earths it would
require to support a planet of people like you).
2) Repeat each quiz. The second time attempt to change your footprint by answering
some questions differently based on your behaviors that might change. Use a
simple table (see example below) to record these scores alongside those you
received the first time.
Table Example
Eco-footprint
Quiz
Name of quiz
Web address
Ecological Footprint Quiz
www.footprintnetwork.org
Name of quiz 2
Web address
Score for
1st take
Score for
2nd take
Difference
Between
1st & 2nd
Scores
21 acre
18 acre
3 acre
4.7 planets 3.9 planets 0.8 planets
Behaviors
Changed
for 2nd take
Ate less meat and
less packaged
food
Drove fewer miles
3) As you move through the quizzes take note of the types of behaviors and
resources that are being measured to create this score. What types of behaviors
can you identify in all these quizzes? Is there a type of behavior that appears to
have greater influence on the eco footprint?
4) Evaluate the exercise and address: a) scores among the two quizzes; b) behaviors
that are important and how changes in behavior appear to influence the
“footprint.”
5) Provide three ways that you feel policy, planning and/or design for places used
for leisure might reduce the ecological footprint. Do you have any reaction to
these quizzes and their intent?
Write up your findings (typed, 12 pt font) and include:
1) A heading with name, course and section number;
2) the table (see example on first page) that includes your quiz results;
3) a description based on # 4 above addressing a) & b) separately and;
4) a description for #5 above.
Be prepared to submit and discuss this assignment in lab next week.