Ecological Footprint:

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Ecological Footprint A model for assessing the
demands human populations make on their
environment
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Definition

• An area of land required to support a defined
  human population at a given standard of living.
• The measure takes account of the area required
  to sustainably provide all the resources needed
  by the population and assimilate all its wastes.
• -IBO

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Ecological Footprint continued

• What resources are provided by the Earth that are
  used by humans? Brainstorm a list..
• What wastes from humans must be assimilated?
  Make a list.

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Ecological Footprint measures the area of land
needed to..

• Provide food, housing land, energy needs,
  building materials, clothes, and other resource
  needs
• It also includes land to recycle all wastes,
  including carbon dioxide from the burning of
  fossil fuels. (Remember photosynthesis plants
  take in carbon dioxide.)

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Use the next four slides to compare the
footprints ..

• Compare the composition of the world ecological
  footprint to lower, middle and higher income
  countries.
• Write the differences and similarities in your
  notebooks.

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Where is energy consumption the greatest part of
the footprint? Where is cropland the greatest
part of the footprint?
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Use the next slide to determine the largest and
smallest ecological footprints per region.
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The Asia Pacific region has the largest regional
footprint. Even though the per capita impact of
its consumption and technology is relatively
small, the population is very large.
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Before clicking on the next slide, guess which
region will have the highest and lowest per
capita ecological footprints. Give a reason for
your answer.
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Because of large consumption rates and advanced
technology, industrial regions, such as the USA,
create large per capita foot prints, even though
they have small populations.
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The next slide gives a good visualization of the
sizes of ecological footprints worldwide.
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The following slide puts the data all together.
Summarize the next graph!
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The following three slides compare the land areas
used for food production. Why does the USA
always make it on the top of the list? Why are
other countries always low?
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Per capita Cropland Footprint
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Per capita grazing land footprint
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Per capita Fishing Ground Footprint
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Ecological Footprints also include land needed to
grow forests for building materials, furniture,
and energy resources.
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Per capita Forest Footprint
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Energy footprint the area of land area needed
to produce resources and absorb wastes. This
includes carbon dioxide waste produced by the
burning of fossil fuels. Guess which countries
will have the biggest energy footprints before
viewing the next slide.
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Per capita energy footprints
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Water use. Check out the map..
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Per capita water withdrawals
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Here are lists ranking the countries with the
highest and lowest ecological footprints.
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The problem is when humanitys ecological
footprint exceeds the Earths biocapacity. The
use of resources is unsustainable if the
ecological footprint exceeds the
biocapacity. Some scientists believe that this
has already occurred.
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Humanitys Ecological Footprint exceeded the
Worlds Biocapacity in the 1970s
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Some people have become aware of the rate of
resource use and are working to reduce wastes and
consumption, especially in Europe.
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Use the next slides to compare different ways to
grow and distribute something as simple as a
potato. Compare the energy required in each
case. Which potato is more sustainable?
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CONVENTIONAL POTATO
Suppliers
Producer
Processing Plant
Distribution Center
Grocery Store
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CONVENTIONAL POTATO
Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels
Fertilizers
Suppliers
Machinery
Pesticides
Truck
Irrigation
Fossil Fuels
Seeds
Producer
Irrigation
Machinery
Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels
Truck
Hydropower
Processing Plant
Machinery
Hydroelectric dam
Hydropower
Food waste
Fossil Fuels
Truck
Fossil Fuels
Freezer
Distribution Center
Animal Feed
Hydroflourocarbons
Truck
Fossil Fuels
Freezer
Grocery Store
Packaging
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CONVENTIONAL POTATO
Air Pollution
Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels
Runoff
Fertilizers
Suppliers
Machinery
Loss of Biodiversity
Pesticides
Truck
Irrigation
Fossil Fuels
Loss of Biodiversity
Seeds
Producer
Irrigation
Machinery
Air Pollution
Fossil Fuels
Air Pollution
Fossil Fuels
Truck
Hydropower
Processing Plant
Machinery
Hydroelectric dam
Loss of Biodiversity
Hydropower
Food waste
Fossil Fuels
Truck
Fossil Fuels
Freezer
Distribution Center
Animal Feed
Damage To Ozone
Hydroflourocarbons
Truck
Fossil Fuels
Solid Waste
Freezer
Grocery Store
Packaging
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CONVENTIONAL POTATO
Forests
Forests
With Sources and Sinks
Air Pollution
Fossil Fuels
Fossil Fuels
Runoff
Fertilizers
Suppliers
Machinery
River
Loss of Biodiversity
River
Pesticides
Truck
Irrigation
Fossil Fuels
Loss of Biodiversity
Seeds
Producer
Cropland
Irrigation
Machinery
Air Pollution
Fossil Fuels
Air Pollution
Fossil Fuels
Truck
Hydropower
Forests
Forests
Processing Plant
Machinery
Hydroelectric dam
Loss of Biodiversity
Hydropower
Food waste
Fossil Fuels
Truck
Fossil Fuels
Built-up Land
Freezer
Distribution Center
Grazing Land
Animal Feed
Damage To Ozone
Hydroflourocarbons
Truck
Fossil Fuels
Solid Waste
Freezer
Grocery Store
Packaging
Forests
Built-up Land
Built-up Land
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Sustainability To meet the needs of the
current generations without compromising the
ability of future generations to meet their own
needs. -UN World Commission on Environment and
Development