Ecological Footprint

What is Ecological Footprint?A way of measuring the demand humans put on the environmentThe amount of space needed to support a person’s activitiesCan be used to measure one person or the population of a city, country or the world

How is the EF measured?A table is used based on the amount of “productive land” needed to support human activitiesTypes of land include:

Crop land (fruits, veggies)Forested land (trees)Pasture land (animals)Energy land (energy source)Degraded land (used to be productive)

Measuring EF For example:

For dinner you have a steak, baked potato (with butter and sour cream) and vegetables.Therefore, you are using:

• crop land (for the vegetables and potato)• Pasture land (cow-for the steak and cow for the butter

and sour cream)• Energy to cook the meal

Land is not just local-as we rely on products from all around the worldRemember, ALL human activities impact the land and leave an Ecological Footprint

What does this mean to Canadians? The average Canadian’s

EF is 4.27 ha/personCanada is only part of the world-so we must consider the rest of the worldWorld’s EF is 1.8ha/personIf all people lived like Canadians we would need 2 additional earthsFair Earthshare-equal amount of earth for the world population=1.44ha/person

Sustainability“Sustainable development is development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

• World Commission on Environment and Development

SustainabilityIf we continue to populate, consume products at our current rate and expect our economy to grow every year without replenishing we will experience Hardin’s Tragedy of the Commons

(Cartright, On the Threshold)Evidence

• Fish stocks (i.e. East Coast Fisheries)• Aquifers emptying (depleting at rate 20 times

faster than replenishment)• Forests being cut down (1/4 of forests cut in last 40

years)

Steps to SustainabilityShift values from excessive material consumptionUse technology to change industrial processes to reduce pollutionUse education and media to increase ecological awarenessTax incentives for conservation and eco-friendly productsDevelop laws holding business accountableImprove efficiency and accessibility of public transportation

Videohttp://vimeo.com/11078685

Ecological Footprint Animation