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 beincluded in your ecologicalfootprint?
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 hectaresper 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