ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

What exactly is an ecological footprint?

Definition: ecological footprint The amount of land needed to produce all of the things we use to support our lifestyle and to absorb all of the waste we create

What exactly is an ecological footprint? It is the IMPRINT we leave on the Earth when we use land for:

What would be included in your ecological footprint?

RAW MATERIALS &

It’s All From Nature EVERYTHING we use comes from, and is returned to nature…

NATURE? bauxite ore caustic soda magnesium manganese iron silicon copper

NATURE? cotton pesticides chemical dyes petroleum copper, zinc iron, carbon

It’s All From Nature EVERYTHING we use comes from, and is returned to nature… …but how much can the Earth handle?

So, how much land is there?? Earth 51 billion hectares

What is a hectare (ha)? Unit of measurement Commonly used for measuring land 100m x 100m 2.47 acres Approximately one official soccer field

Earth 51 billion hectares

PARTIAL LAND

PRODUCTIVE

Let’s Do the Math… 51 billion hectares LAND: 18% of that is productive land How many hectares of productive land? WATER: 5% of that is productive water How many hectares of productive water?

Not a whole lot of room! There are over 7 BILLION PEOPLE who live on the Earth That means there’s only 1.7 hectares available for each of us!!

Not all footprints are the same… Every lifestyle has a different footprint, and on average, so does every country… Available 1.7 ha Canada 8.8 ha India 0.5 ha United States 10 ha

In Canada, our footprint is That means we are using more land than is available to sustain our lifestyles 8.8 hectares per person

Canada What if everyone lived as we do?

Extra Slides

The planet mapped by footprint size

- no car - no water (need to walk to well) - no electricity - live off the land - no car - no electricity - markets for food - well for water - two cars - 45 lights and 3 TVs - heated swimming pool - grocery stores - two plane trips a year - weekly garbage pickup Every lifestyle has a different footprint