Ecological Footprint Activity
M. Stephens
How much of Earth’s resources does your lifestyle require?
How does this compare to the amount of resources available?
Is this sustainable?
You are about to find out.
This Ecological Footprint represents an estimate of the resources each person needs to support what
he or she uses and discards as waste. After answering the ecological footprint questions, you'll be able
to see and reflect upon what contributes to your ecological footprint. You will investigate how your
footprint compares with others’ and with the available resources on earth. Submit your completed
responses as directed.
Background information on the Ecological Footprint concept
Source: World Footprint http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/world_footprint/
Do we fit on the planet?
Today humanity uses the equivalent of 1.4 planets to provide the resources we use and absorb our
waste. This means it now takes the Earth one year and five months to regenerate what we use in a
year.
Moderate United Nations’ scenarios suggest that if current population and consumption trends continue,
by the middle of the century if not before, we will need the equivalent of two Earths to support us. And
of course, we only have one.
Turning resources into waste faster than waste can be turned back into resources puts us in global
ecological overshoot, depleting the very resources on which human life and biodiversity depend.
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The result is collapsing fisheries, diminishing forest cover, depletion of fresh water systems, and the
build up of pollution and waste, which creates problems like global climate change. These are just a few
of the most noticeable effects of overshoot.
Overshoot also contributes to resource conflicts and wars, mass migrations, famine, disease and other
human tragedies—and tends to have a disproportionate impact on the poor, who cannot buy their way
out of the problem by getting resources from somewhere else.
Ending Overshoot
The Earth provides all that we need to live and thrive. So what will it take for humanity to live within
the means of one planet?
Individuals and institutions worldwide must begin to recognize ecological limits. We must begin to
make ecological limits central to our decision-making and use human ingenuity to find new ways to live,
within the Earth’s bounds.
This means investing in technology and infrastructure that will allow us to operate in a resource
constrained world. It means taking individual action, and creating the public demand for businesses and
policy makers to participate.
Using tools like the Ecological Footprint to manage our ecological assets is essential for humanity’s
survival and success. Knowing how much nature we have, how much we use, and who uses what is the
first step, and will allow us to track our progress as we work toward our goal of sustainable, one-planet
living.
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Directions for the Ecological Footprint Activity
Read this before class. We will begin the activity in class; you will complete the questions on your own
outside of class.
1. Go to the Global Footprint Network site:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/personal_footprint/
Read the sections from the column on the left:
Introduction
Overview
World Footprint
2. Click Personal Footprint
3. Click Take the Quiz
4. From the map, select or click within the United States. Be sure you choose USA, not Calgary,
which is in Canada.
Then,
Begin
New Users > get started
Create an avatar - Do this quickly, using Randomly generate. Do not waste time dressing up
for the occasion!
OK click to continue.
5. Use the slider bars to respond to all the questions to the best of your ability. Choose either “Enter
basic information” or “Enter detailed information” as appropriate for your circumstances or level
of knowledge about the item. Estimate and ask for assistance if necessary. Don’t be afraid – there
are no right or wrong answers, and the quiz is not for a grade! As you go through the exercise,
think about the kinds of questions being asked and how the answers might differ for people
living in different types of environments (e.g. rural, urban, suburban) and in different regions
of the world.
6. After you complete the questions, you’ll see a table entitled Your Ecological Footprint divided into
four sections. Record the data below.
a. 1st section: # of Planet Earths needed if everyone lived like you do:
b.
c. 2nd section
Total # of global acres of the Earth’s productive area:
Tons of carbon dioxide:
Record the approximate number of bars, or fractions of bars, representing global acres of productive
land needed for each category:
Energy land:
Crop land:
Grazing land:
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Forest land:
Built-up land:
Fishing grounds:
7. 3rd section: Scroll the mouse over the pie chart to view and record the approximate percentages of
your footprint attributed to each end-use category:
Food:
Shelter:
Mobility:
Goods:
Services:
8. 4th section Can you reduce your Ecological Footprint? Click continue, then save footprint. If you
do not save your footprint, the information will be lost if you go to another screen, and you may
have to start over to see results.
9. Once you have saved your footprint, click continue, then explore the links on your own. Go to the
links entitled “edit your footprint” and “explore scenarios” to investigate how various actions
might affect your footprint and to learn more about the Ecological Footprint.
Click “Learn more about the Ecological Footprint”
Review:
Footprint Basics
Overview
World Footprint
Frequently Asked Questions
10. Use the information from the website, your background knowledge, any other assigned reading, and
our class discussion to answer the questions below.
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Name:
Section Day/Time:
Ecological Footprint Activity- Assigned Questions
Type your responses. Use your own words to demonstrate understanding of the concepts. Do not simply
copy information from the site. Use additional space as needed. Submit as directed.
1. What does the Ecological Footprint measure?
2.
What is:
a) The current world footprint?
b) The footprint for the United States?
c) Your footprint?
Where did you find that information?
d) How does the current world footprint compare to the earth’s regenerative capacity (the ability to
replenish resources)?
3. What does it mean to be in overshoot?
4. What are the some of the implications and consequences of this situation for the present or the future?
5. Which groups of people are affected the most…the rich or the poor? Explain.
4. What are some of the major factors that affect one’s footprint?
5. Why and how is the Ecological Footprint number affected by where one lives, such as
urban, rural or suburban areas?
industrialized versus less-industrialized countries?
6. How and why do the amounts of meat and animal products you eat affect your ecological
footprint?
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7. Describe at least three changes could you make to reduce your ecological footprint?
8. What have you learned from this exercise? Do the results surprise you? Other comments?
9. List and provide definitions in your own words for at least three new terms or concepts related to this
activity.
Supplemental Exercises (Optional)
1) Change some of the parameters (such as the number of people in your household, miles you
drive, square footage of your home) and describe how they affect your Ecological Footprint
calculation.
2) If you have ever lived in or visited another country long enough to be able to answer the
questions from the perspective of that country, take the quiz again as if you were in that country,
and compare the results to those from the United States.
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