earthcare balloon

| ecological footprint |

How large a footprint do we leave upon the earth? This depends on our foot size, doesn’t it? It also depends on how heavily we walk on the earth. The ecological footprint refers to the area of ecologically productive land and water required to support our lifestyles. Earth has 7.3 billion hectares of ecologically productive land. Earth’s human population is six billion people. That means every person on earth is entitled to 1.22 hectares if the earth's resources were shared equally.

Unfortunately, in this world everyone is not equal. People do not have equal access to fresh water and fertile land. Some have no access to energy for heat. The ecological footprint was designed to make people aware of how many resources developed nations use in comparison with less wealthy, developing nations.

There are a few ecological footprint formulas online and in books to let you see how you impact earth. Most formulas calculate information in roughly the same manner, with a slight variation in questions asked. Earthcare Connections has found two good sources that you may want to use to calculate your footprint. These are found on the website for the Recycling Council of Ontario as well as the website for the Earth Day Network, made by Refining Progress.

In 1995 the following countries had these average footprints (measured in hectares):

We can reduce the size of our ecological footprint by examining our everyday activities and implementing the necessary changes to make them more environmentally friendly. The first step to change is to realize that a change is crucial.