Ecological Footprint

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Ecological Footprint
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What is Ecological Footprint?

• A way of measuring the demand humans put on the
  environment
• The amount of space needed to support a persons
  activities
• Can be used to measure one person or the
  population of a city, country or the world

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How is the EF measured?

• A table is used based on the amount of
  productive land needed to support human
  activities
• Types of land include
• Crop land (fruits, veggies)
• Forested land (trees)
• Pasture land (animals)
• Energy land (energy source)
• Degraded land (used to be productive)

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Measuring EF

• For example
• For dinner you have a steak, baked potato (with
  butter and sour cream) and vegetables.
• Therefore, you are using
• crop land (for the vegetables and potato)
• Pasture land (cow-for the steak and cow for the
  butter and sour cream)
• Energy to cook the meal
• Land is not just local-as we rely on products
  from all around the world
• Remember, ALL human activities impact the land
  and leave an Ecological Footprint

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What does this mean to Canadians?

• The average Canadians EF is 4.27 ha/person
• Canada is only part of the world-so we must
  consider the rest of the world
• Worlds EF is 1.8ha/person
• If all people lived like Canadians we would need
  2 additional earths
• Fair Earthshare-equal amount of earth for the
  world population1.44ha/person

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Sustainability

• Sustainable development is development that
  meets the needs of the present without
  compromising the ability of future generations to
  meet their own needs.
• World Commission on Environment and Development

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Sustainability

• If we continue to populate, consume products at
  our current rate and expect our economy to grow
  every year without replenishing we will
  experience Hardins Tragedy of the Commons
• (Cartright, On the Threshold)
• Evidence
• Fish stocks (i.e. East Coast Fisheries)
• Aquifers emptying (depleting at rate 20 times
  faster than replenishment)
• Forests being cut down (1/4 of forests cut in
  last 40 years)

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Steps to Sustainability

• Shift values from excessive material consumption
• Use technology to change industrial processes to
  reduce pollution
• Use education and media to increase ecological
  awareness
• Tax incentives for conservation and eco-friendly
  products
• Develop laws holding business accountable
• Improve efficiency and accessibility of public
  transportation