How big is your Ecological Footprint?

An ecological footprint is a way to measure the amount of environmental resources that a person uses on earth. Think of a small flower bed as our planet. If we step on it with a huge foot we could squash all the flowers and then some, leaving none for others to enjoy. However, if we step on it with a tiny foot, we would hurt very few, if any flowers at all. Canada, and the United States are two of the most industrialized countries, and unfortunately utilize much of the planet's resources. There are many other countries that are also utilizing much of the planet's resources and generating massive amounts of pollution. Cutting down trees, burning fossil fuels such as gasoline and oil and utilizing non-biodegradable materials such as plastics for packaging are some of the main culprits.

Calculating one's Ecological Footprint takes many things such the country we live in, our mode of transportation, food we eat, as well as daily choices we make to calculate a numerical figure or the size of our footprint. For example, if you use a car, rather than public transportation, you will have a greater negative environmental impact on our planet. Another example of a negative impact on the planet, is if you eat meat, because the human consumption of cattle results in millions of acres of land being burned or cut down each year for cattle to graze.

There are many Ecological Footprint quizzes that can be taken online (a link below will lead to one such quiz). They usually generate results in terms of how much of a planet's resources you will use in your lifetime in comparison to someone living in a not so industrialized nation. The goal for everyone wishing to do their part to help our environment is to leave as little a footprint on our planet as possible. Most of us are accustomed to living our lives in a certain way, but when we see how great of an impact that our lifestyles have on our planet, it certainly encourages us to do a little more to help the environment in our own lives, while urging our governments and factories to find greener solutions. Our country could do so much more to help the environment such as finding cleaner energy solutions to clean our air. If our country reduced air emissions by finding and using a clean way to run our cars, homes, and businesses, planted more trees, and cleaned up our waterways, our country and in turn ourselves, would be well on the way to having a small Ecological Footprint, so that future generations can enjoy the many beautiful splendours of our earth. Let's face it, if our planet keeps up with its current pace, 150 years from now people will be drinking from filtered water bottles only, wearing masks to breathe, and hiding from the sun's UV rays underground. It's not too late, we can make this planet into a beautiful place to live once again.

I took one of the Ecological Footprint test online a few years ago and found that if everyone lived like I did, we would need 2.4 planets to support us!!! More recently, I took the test after improving my lifestyle such as switching to energy conservation light bulbs, not eating meat, and travelling with other people, instead of alone and now my footprint on the earth has greatly decreased. Although, I still have aways to go, with additional changes, I would like to leave a very small footprint on our planet.

Here are my recent results:

My total footprint on our planet is now 2.2 global hectares. In comparison, the average Ecological Footprint for a person living in Canada is 8.8 global hectares per person! If everyone lived like me now, we would need 1.2 planets to support us-that's an improvement from 2.4 planets. Worldwide, there exists 1.8 biologically productive global hectares per person. So I still have some work to do.

What's your footprint?

There are many informative websites available on this topic; here are a few:

http://www.myfootprint.org
http://www.footprintnetwork.org

By: Jennifer White

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