5.11 Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprint

Measure of how much a person or group consumes an area of land, it is biologically productive hectare (2.47 acres)

Factors: Food production, raw materials housing, electricity, waste)

Carbon footprint

Measures in tonnes of CO2 produced per year

-CO2 is released from a person or groups consumption & activities (goods, food production, energy)

Factors that imcrease & decrease footprint

Increase footprint:

-wealth (larger houses, travel, more resources for goods)

-meat consumption (more land, more water, more energy)

-fossil fuel usage (heat, electricity, travel)

Decreases:

-renewable energy (wind, solar)

-public transportation (less gas)

-plant based diet

“Number of Earths”

Ecological footprint can be expressed in “number of earths” required if the world consumed the same level of resources as given to a person or a group

-average of U.S. (5.1 Earths)

-current global (1.85 Earths)