Ecological Footprints and Environmental Sustainability

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Ecological Footprints and Environmental
Sustainability

• CGC1D

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What is an ecological footprint?
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Ecological Footprints are

• a measure of human impact on the Earth. The
  footprint equals the Earths cost to sustain one
  person. Its measured in hectares and represents
  the land area needed to provide resources and
  absorb waste and greenhouse gases produced by an
  individual.

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What are the numbers?

• World Average 2.2 hectares
• Biggest Footprint United States 9.6 hectares
• Smallest Footprint Bangladesh 0.5 hectares
• Average Canadian Footprint 8.6 hectares
• Canada has the 3rd highest footprint in the
  world!
• Why is Canadas average footprint so big?

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What do we need?

• We require ..
• 0.2 hectares of land for water (to drink
  provide seafood)
• hectares of land for home and roads and factories
  that make the material things we grave
• 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

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Ecological Impact of Nations

• The map on the following slide shows various
  countries and regions of the world proportionate
  to their production and consumption of
  commercially traded fuels.
• All figures are in million metric tons of oil
  equivalent.

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Ecological Impact of Nations
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Ecological Impact of Nations
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How Much Land do we Have?
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Defining Environment Sustainability

• Stewardship refers to the responsibility we all
  have to the environment and resources that has
  been left to us by our ancestors. We are all
  stewards to our planet.
• Sustainability refers to the ability to develop
  in order to meet the needs of the present without
  negatively affecting the ability of future
  generations to meet their needs

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Defining Environment Sustainability

• If we are not all following our role as stewards
  in the global village, then we will not have a
  sustainable environment for our future children.
• We do not inherit the earth from our
  grandparents, we borrow it from our children.
• We must all do our part to keep our consumption
  of resources to a minimum, and to keep the
  environment around us clean.
• Are you doing your part?

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How a Greenhouse Works
The rays become weaker once they bounce off
something, so they are not all able to pierce
back through the glass the temperature inside
rises.
The suns rays are strong enough to pierce
through the glass of the greenhouse.
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The Greenhouse Effect - Now
Some rays are strong enough to escape back into
space
Atmosphere
Some rays are held in by the atmosphere
Suns rays
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The Greenhouse Effect - Now
A thickened atmosphere, caused by pollution
More rays are held in, warming up the Earth
Suns rays
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Defining Environment Sustainability

• Climate Change is a major shift in the overall
  temperature levels of the Earth (up or down).
• Global Warming is the rising of the average
  temperature of Earth.
• The Greenhouse Effect is the trapping of heat by
  the Earths thickened atmosphere. This is caused
  by pollution.

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Who Will Speak for the Trees?