Ecological Footprint Summary

The ecological footprint is a measure of how much of an impact you have on the environment. The amount of productive land and water required to produce the resources consumed by an individual or population is estimated. During the Ecological Footprint activity, I've learned numerous new facts about the planet earth, as well as how our daily activities contribute to the Ecological Footprint.

    Figure 1. The diagram above shows the ecological footprint. Comparisons are made between the consumption and production of renewable resources.

A big factor of the ecological footprint is biocapacity, short for biological capacity. Biocapacity is the ability of an ecosystem to provide biological resources.

     
Figure 2. The graph above shows a comparison between the ecological footprint and the biocapacity of a population. As presented, the ecological footprint exceeds the biocapacity.

When the needed amount of resources required for human demand exceeds the biocapacity, this results in ecological overshoot.

 "The data show that humanity’s demand on the biosphere for providing natural resources and absorbing carbon dioxide emissions is 44 percent more than what nature can provide. This ecological overshoot means it now takes approximately 18 months for the Earth to regenerate what we use in one year. The urgent threats we are facing today - most notably climate change, but also biodiversity loss, shrinking forests, declining fisheries and freshwater stress - are symptoms of this trend."

Figure 3. The T-Chart above shows the amount of planet earths required if everyone consumed a certain amount of resources.


Because of excessive use of energy, oil, water, and other resources, we consume much more than we produce. This routine results in a high ecological footprint, especially in more developed countries such as the U.S. (see Figure 3).There are multiple ways we can maintain sustainability. In order to live a sustainable life on earth, we must reduce our utilization of resources - such as water and energy. Recycling must be encouraged as using recycled materials will reduce waste. Forests and soil also need to be preserved.


References
Computer Lab Research. 24 October 2013. http://hmsclassroommaterials.blogspot.com/2013/10/ecological-footprint.html

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/images_ef/05_china_efbio.gif

http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/newsletter/bv/humanity_now_demanding_1.4_earths