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