Ecological Footprint What’s your impact?

Ecological Footprint (EF) Definition: how much of the Earth we use for our food, clothing, play, energy, shelter, waste etc” It is measured in hectares and represents the land area needed to provide resources and absorb waste and greenhouse gases produced by an individual (hectares per person)

Canada’s EF vs the World What footprint size could the world sustain? How does Canada’s footprint compare to the rest of the world’s? What’s wrong with the numbers?

There are only global hectares available per person. This means we are overshooting the Earth's biological capacity by nearly 50%. To sustain present levels of consumption, we would need:

World Average 2.2 hectares Biggest Footprint - USA 9.6 hectares Smallest Footprint – Bangladesh 0.5 hectares Average Canadian Footprint 8.6 hectares Canada has the third largest Ecological Footprint in the world. Why?

Why Canada’s EF is so high We require … hectares of land for water (to drink & provide seafood) 0.4hectares of land for home and roads and factories that make the material things we crave 1.6 hectares of land for farmland to grow the food we eat 0.3 hectares of land for grazing land for meat and dairy 1.4 hectares of land for timber wood and paper products 4.7 hectares of land and needed to absorb the greenhouse gases produced by driving around town, through the running of air conditioners and the import of exotic goods and foods = 8.6 hectares

Calculating your Ecological Footprint (EF) Log on to Log In: PSWD: tKlz5Erh (its an i)

Our Class Results: Calculate the class average (add up and divide by the number of people in the class)

Describe how your footprint compares to the rest of the class. How does your footprint compare to the classes average? What areas are you doing well with your EF? What areas are you doing poorly with your EF? What can you do to help make Canada’s EF lower?