Ecological Footprint Report And Recommendations

Ecological Footprint Report And Recommendations
Macquarie University Arts Department: Ecological Footprint Report and Recommendations Table of Contents Abstract/ Executive Summary3
Introduction3 Strategies4 Operational Items4 Buildings5 Energy5 Water8 Biological Capacity8 Transport8 Recommendations and Conclusion11
Figures13 References13 Abstract/ Executive Summary In order to reduce the ecological impact of Macquarie University's Arts Department the
ecological footprinting tool is used to highlight problem areas and provide clear information on usage. By using this footprinting tool and related
academic literature seven potential strategies have been identified. Recommended Strategies: 1.Reduce single occupant transport by 50% 2.Reduce
Energy usage by 20% 3.Offset 30% of Energy consumption 4.Reduce air travel by 50% 5.Reduce the usage of paper–products by 50% (20% in
advertising and marketing) 6.Install 100kw of Photovoltaic solar cells 7.Introduce vertical gardens on north facing walls By utilising these schemes a
total reduction of 408.9 gha and 0.1 planets is achieved. While this is a modest reduction these strategies, when implemented on a university wide scale,
could dramatically reduce the overall footprint of the university and aid in meeting the 'One Planet 2030' Goal. Introduction In order to live sustainably
in a world with limited resources and increasing environmental, social and economic inequity it is vital for institutions, individuals and companies to
examine the way
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The Ecological Footprint Of A Human
Humans tend effect their world in different ways, but one specific way would be the ecological footprint of a human. What does ecological
footprint mean? Ecological footprint is the effect of a person, society or community that effects the environment in certain way it could good or bad.
People impact the world in different ways some recycle others tend to cut down more trees and threw away their trash on the grass or on the roads.
With the lifestyle in the 20th century a lot has changed quick example would be hybrid cars are being manufactured so their could be less pollution in
the air. As a result of the horrific past lifestyle of humans that has caused changes to the world, have forced humans to decrease ones ecological
footprint.

An Description Of An Ecological Footprint Essay
Introduction
An ecological footprint tells us how much land and sea area is required to produce the resources and living necessities for some number of human
beings upon it , as well as how much that area of land or sea absorbs carbon dioxide emissions. But it also helps us tell how much our particular
land/sea area used for living compared to the land/sea area available on the planet (thus one might say, as in my case, that if everyone lived like me
we would require 3.9 earths to allow for them to live, sustainably). ==========
An ecological footprint is an important unit of measurement to have because it helps give us some indication about the total amount of resources we
are using, and some of its effect on the planet. Thus a footprint can help us reach a better level of sustainable living by giving us some way to
measure our progress towards or away from that particular goal (where otherwise we would have no way of telling truly how sustainably we were
living). ==========
Analysis ==========
If everyone lived like me, we would need 3.9 earths to provide the necessary resources. To support my lifestyle, it would take 17.4 global acres of the
Earth's productive area (or 17 tons of carbon dioxide). Most of which, over 55% would be for energy/land. About 13% would be necessary for crop
land. About a 4% would be needed for grazing. About 18% would be forested land, along with roughly 7% of built up land and roughly 3% in fishing
grounds. (All of these measurements

How is sustainable development linked to ecological footprint? According to the Brundtland Report, sustainable development is defined as
"development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." In this definition,
two challenges are worth nothing: meeting the needs of world's poor, as well as the environmental limitations brought about by technological
advancements and social organizations. According to Ruzevicius (2010), "a country's social and economic development should be oriented such that
the satisfaction of our present day needs would not affect the opportunities for satisfying the needs of future generations". In the Brundtland
Commission's 1987 report...show more content...
GPI is a measure of economic performance that takes into account the economic contributions of volunteer and household work, while removing
negative factors like environmental degradation, crime and family breakdowns (Parris, 2003). GPI is a measure of sustainable economic welfare,
not just economic activity. A rise in GPI indicates a rise in stocks of natural and social capital on which all goods and services flow (Talberth, 2006).
Living Planet Index measures the change in state of global biodiversity over time, including populations of terrestrial, freshwater, and marine species
(Loh et al, 2005). The Wellbeing Index has two components: human and ecosystem. The human Wellbeing Index is composed of indices for health,
wealth, knowledge and equity. The ecosystem Wellbeing Index has indices for water, air, land, species and resource use (Parris, 2003). All these
indicators could be used complementarily as a more integrated way of tracking sustainable development.
Even though ecological footprint is not a comprehensive measurement of sustainable development, it is a great indicator or "warning system" for any
improvements needed in the pursuit of sustainable development. Ecological footprint is known as a negative ecological indicator since the higher its
value, the worse the implications (Ruzvicius, 2010). It helps us acknowledge the challenge that we are facing and aids in directing us towards the path
of sustainable living. It educates people

The Ecological Footprint Of The Human Race
The ecological footprint of the human race is only getting bigger and bigger as our population steadily increases. It is estimated that our population
grows 1.1% each year and it doesn 't show a trace of slowing down (who.int). We have all hopefully heard the phrase "reduce, reuse, and recycle." This
phrase alone could help us gradually reduce our ecological footprint, but many poor countries don 't have governing systems that takes in and sorts
plastic or paper products. Some environmentalists say that unless something drastically changes, humans are doomed in the future because of lack of
resources. Some say that by then, humans will have sufficient technology to sustain ourselves and our large resource consuming population.
I think most people can agree that if we all change our mindset and governments work together to solve the problem, there can be drastic improvements.
As stated from greenliving.com, "An increase in population size makes excessive demands on natural resources, and increases the demand on
agriculture and livestock." Overall, there are many negative impacts associated with population explosion. Some environmentalists believe that the
human race will reach its carrying capacity relatively soon and our population will plummet. I beg to differ because I think that humans will find a
way to solve the population problem before disasters arrive. The most efficient and easy way to solve the problem is very controversial. In The
Tragedy of the

My Ecological Footprint
The following Power Point presentation is on environmental awareness, specifically my ecological footprint. As a North Carolina (NC) native with a
wife and five children, my family's ecological footprint would be 28.8 acres. This figure represents the amount of natural resources required to
sustained just my household. This presentation will discuss the significance of such a large footprint on the ecosystem, the ecology and biome of the
state of NC, the impact humans have as a whole on the ecosystem, factors of biodiversity and how they effect the ecology, and measures that NC is
taking to support biodiversity. Lastly, I will discuss factors within the biome that work together in an ecosystem and conclude with changes that need to
be made

My Ecological Footprint
When starting this assignment I had no clue exactly what my ecological footprint was, I never really paid attention to what and ecological footprint
was until this assignment. In order for me to figure out what my ecological footprint is I chose to take two quizzes in order to see if my answers all
matched up. After taking both tests my results were all different but all stated that the way I am going about life in our habit is not so eco–friendly as I
thought I was and I definitely need to make some changes. My first ecological footprint quiz that I took was through Global Footprint Network. The
quiz was simulated and it questioned how I go about things on a daily bases. Once all the questions were answered it gave me the diagnostic of my
ecological footprint and I discovered I am about the complete opposite of ecofriendly. At the end of the quiz after receiving my diagnostic the website
gave me more additional information on how...show more content...
The second quiz gave me drastically similar results. I thought the ecological footprint quizzes would have close to the same questions but to my
surprise WWF.org had extremely different questions compared to Global Footprint Network. According to this second quiz I use just enough
eco–friendly products that if everyone was to live like me that we would be only be okay living if we had 4.35 earths. After taking both quizzes I
began to question the accuracy of both quizzes but then I realized that the second quiz asked me more questions of me and my family rather than
just solely based on me. For example, the second quiz asked a question such as, how much meat do you and your family consume on a weekly
bases? Whereas the first quiz asked how much meat I consume on a daily bases. Also, when the second quiz asked question they gave very few
detailed answers to choose from therefore I received a biased ecological footprint unlike the first quiz that was based just on

Ecological Footprint
his page is a list of countries by ecological footprint. This table is based on 2007 data from the Global Footprint Network published in 2010. Data is
given as global hectares per capita. The world–average ecological footprint in 2007 was 2.7 global hectares per person (18.0 billion in total). With a
world–average biocapacity of 1.8 global hectares per person (12 billion in total), this leads to an ecological deficit of 0.9 global hectares per person (6
billion in total). If a country does not have enough ecological resources within its own territory, then there is a local ecological deficit and it is called
an ecological debtor country. Otherwise, it has an ecological remainder and it is called an ecological creditor country. NB...show more content...
–0.44 Senegal 11.89 1.09 1.20 0.11 Lesotho 2.03 1.07 0.81 –0.26 Sierra Leone 5.42 1.05 1.20 0.15 Cameroon 18.66 1.04 1.85 0.81 Cambodia 14.32
1.03 0.94 –0.09 Rwanda 9.45 1.02 0.56 –0.46 CГґte d'Ivoire 20.12 1.01 1.67 0.66 Angola 17.56 1.00 3.00 2.00 Tajikistan 6.73 1.00 0.56–0.44 Togo
6.30 0.97 0.60 –0.37 Republic of the Congo 3.55 0.96 13.27 12.31 Guinea–Bissau 1.54 0.96 3.22 2.26 Yemen 22.27 0.94 0.62–0.32 India 1164.67 0.91
0.51 –0.40 Zambia 12.31 0.91 2.26 1.35 Burundi 7.84 0.90 0.50 –0.40 Eritrea 4.78 0.89 1.60 0.71 Mozambique 21.87 0.77 1.89 1.12 Pakistan 173.18
0.77 0.43 –0.34 Democratic Republic of the Congo 62.52 0.75 2.76 2.01 Palestinian Authority 4.02 0.74 0.16 –0.58 Malawi 14.44 0.73 0.70 –0.03 Haiti
9.72 0.68 0.31 –0.37 Afghanistan 26.29 0.62 0.54 –0.08 Bangladesh 157.75 0.62 0.38 –0.24 Timor–Leste 1.06 0.44 1.21 0.77 Puerto Rico 3.95 0.04 0.14

Ecological Footprint Research Paper
My Ecological Footprint According to my Ecological Footprint score, I clearly need to improve the way I live my life. When I first moved into Tucson
not much was taken into consideration. Attending the university has given few options in purchasing my meals because I have a limited amount of
time to eat and sometimes I just don't have enough money to buy eco–friendly meals. I end up buying microwavable foods that aren't really packaged
in reusable material. All my wastes end up in the same bin and I rarely recycle any newspapers, water bottles, wasted phones/batteries as well as
paper. Also, driving my car seems more efficient. However, the score made me realized that I make a huge impact on the world around me through
the services I acquire, mobility and transportation I take, and shelter I use. If everyone did the same activities as me, we would need 4–7 planet earths
to provide enough resources. My lifestyle is comprised of 42% services. The animal products I choose to consume aren't the best preserved nor the
ones with the easy availability. The foods I eat aren't fresh out from the market. They require to be processed and manufactured in factories and use
up a vast amount of resources. It takes 21 global acres of the earth's productivity area to satisfy my service needs. The energy required by me releases
...show more content...
I at least use 20 mileages of my car every day. I drive myself practically everywhere I need to go. Friends have offered to carpool to school and have
also encouraged me to start riding my bike. Unfortunately, I live almost 20 minutes away from school so this is something I can't really consider. I
will start looking into other alternatives such as scheduling at least 2 days a week to begin a carpool with at least 3 of my friends. If I change a few
of my daily activities or just try to reduce the amount of resource I use, I'm positive of making an impact in prolonging our Earth's

Personal Ecological Footprint
An ecological footprint is the amount of Earth's resources that humans use in terms of how much land is required to produce those resources. By
this equation, people are currently using 1.5 times as much resources as the Earth can sustain (GFN). Before calculating my personal ecological
footprint, I predicted that mine would be somewhat less than the average American because I try to make sustainable choices in my everyday
actions. I walk everywhere with the occasional exception of riding a bus for short distances, try to conserve energy, and recycle as often as I can,
however, I eat a significant amount of animal products and processed foods. I also predicted that because I live in a highly developed nation, my
impact would be much greater...show more content...
The amount of resources humans currently use is far greater than the Earth can support, and eventually the finite sources of energy such as coal, gas,
and oil will run out. Even renewable resources such as trees and farming land are being depleted at a faster rate than they can be naturally replenished.
The only way that the Earth's resources can continue to support the growing human population is if we attempt to reduce our ecological footprint, and
there are several ways to go about this task. For one, people can find sustainable methods of fulfilling their needs for things like energy and food.
Instead of using so much land for taking care of livestock and growing feed, farms can focus on growing vegetables for humans which use much
less energy and water. People will have to eat less meat and purchase food that was grown locally to reduce transportation costs. Forests, farmland,
and fisheries need to be used in a more sustainable manner so that they are not depleted before they can be replenished. We could also reduce our
footprint by making use of cleaner, alternative sources of energy like wind and solar power instead of non–renewable ones like gas and oil that will
soon run out. Although it is not practical for everyone to stop driving cars and flying, newly manufactured cars should be built as fuel efficient as
possible or be able to be

Ecological Footprint Quiz Analysis
After taking the Ecological Footprint Quiz, it was calculated that we would need 4.9 earths if everyone lived my lifestyle. This is fairly congruent
with the American average of 5 earths. While I know that my life style is not sustainable, it is very easy to lose track of just how unsustainable the
average American life is. According to the pie chart breakdown, 48% of my ecologic impact is in "services" area. In further researching information
about this, I found that these services are not variable in the calculator; everyone taking the quiz has a portion of their nation's "services" footprint
simply due to living in that country. As is described on the website, "service areas include (but are not limited to) health care, entertainment,
restaurants, real estate, legal services, government and the military" (Global Footprint Calculator, 2015). It is interesting that the government services
that I may or may not take part of are included in my footprint simply because I live in the United States. I suppose that one way I can lower my
ecological footprint is simply by moving to a different country....show more content...
I spend eight to ten hours of my day at a desk typing on a computer and speaking on the phone. If the power were to go out, there would be no work for
me to do. Even when I leave work, I am usually tied to my phone or laptop completing schoolwork or browsing social media. In many ways, my
lifestyle is centered around our available energy sources. Based on this quiz, I use about 18.3 global acres of earth's productive area with an
expenditure of about 18.9 tons of carbon dioxide on average. It seems that energy land is the production area responsible for the majority of my carbon

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT Ecological footprint is the effect of human activities which is measure in terms of biologically productive land and
water which is required to produce the goods produced the goods consumed and assimilate the wastes that are generated, it is essentially the
amount of the environment which is necessary to produce the goods and services necessary to support a particular lifestyle. The indicator is an
estimate of the amount of space on the earth that an individual uses in order to survive using the existing technology and resources on our planet.
The Least Developed Country (LDC) I picked out is Uganda. Uganda is a country is East Africa, it comes under a category of one of the least
developed countries because it has a per capita income of under US170$, it is one the poorest countries in the world. The population in Uganda is
broadly poor, it is generally difficult for Ugandan families to spend a dollar and it is difficult to take care of their essential needs. 80% of the
Ugandans work in agriculture, their main crops cultivated are cotton, corn, tea and coffee. Most of the production in the country is by farmer's
cooperatives, as the environment provides good grazing land for cattle, sheep and goats. Uganda escaped a widespread famine in the late 1970's and
1980's because many people including the woman residents resorted to the subsistence cultivation. The life expectancy for women is 58 years while
in the US it is 81 years of age– that is a 23 year

The Effects of Our Ecological Footprints Essay
Ecological footprint measures how human affect on our planet. In order to solve the global environmental problems, it is crucial to figure out who is
the determinism. According to the table, it is seen that US&Canada region gets a biggest total footprint 7.9 gha which is much higher than the total
world average 2.7 gha (2010). Specifically, United States in this region contributes the most.
According to the table, US&Canada region has greatest cropland, forest and carbon footprints (2010). From my perspective, their lifestyle plays a
significant role. U.S and Canada are both developed countries which have great differences on lifestyle in contrast to developing countries. Regarding
United States as a specific example, Americans often eat...show more content...
On the one hand, I am not usually to buy stuff like clothing, furniture or home entertainment equipments. Also, I prefer to read books or
newspaper on line instead of buying them. Therefore, I save a great amount of resources I use. On the other hand, I am used to sorting my plastic
paper from food package, waste papers, and recycling them. It results in less waste. Furthermore, for the food part, I prefer eating fresh and local
food rather than processed food like canned and frozen food. By eating local food, it uses less transportation. I also dislike fish, which can reduce the
fishing grounds footprint of the total. Secondly, that my footprint is higher than the total world average is because of services, mobility and shelter
parts. I am used to going to restaurants every week with my friends, which increases my services portion. Also, because I am an international student,
each year it takes me about 13 hours to go back my home country by airplane. Because airplane consumes large amounts of fossil fuels through flying, t
releases carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, and increases the carbon footprint. Moreover, I live in a three–bedroom apartment. The big room size means
we need to consume more electricity and natural gas energy, which wastes a lot.
To reduce my footprint, I could reduce the household energy we use. We could leave home with the heat and lights turn off and use energy efficient
bulbs. I also could reduce the frequency to go to restaurants.

Reasons Behind Canada's Ecological Footprint
Canada is one of the developed nations in the world and with that comes a certain type of lifestyle that its citizens are accustomed to and often expect.
This lifestyle is definitely not conscious of the environment at most times, however is trying to improve or at least find some kind of alternative to
environmental problems that we can't actually fix because they've become an important part of our everyday life. For that, our lifestyle has been
measured by way of an ecological footprint and the results obviously haven't been something to be proud of. Although there are many reasons why the
ecological footprint of Canada is so high, one of the reasons is because of our excessive fossil fuel emissions from our cars, trucks, busses and planes.
...show more content...
If we choose to keep cutting down trees and consuming natural resources then they won't be able to replenish fast enough and there will be none
left, posing many problems like having fresh water available to drink, wood to build products, and land to farm on. Obviously not many people are
properly educated on environmental issues and how they make them worse but if we as a society choose not to educate those who aren't then they
will continue to use too many resources and not think about how their lifestyle is hurting our environment, which will make environmental
problems even worse than they are today. Now as humans we've always wanted to get bigger and better, but if we keep expanding and building as
much as we are then there won't be as many resources available because we'll have taken over spaces and land that was needed for those natural
environments to live. Although this seems like a drastic point and something that we can't really stop, if we always think that we need to keep
building, someday we just won't have any land to do it and also at the same time realize that we don't have resources

An ecological footprint is your overall impact on the environment based on the resources that you use. The resources that you use will give an
estimate to determine the area that is needed to support your lifestyle. Typically a person in a modern society that is industrialized can have a
bigger ecological footprint than a person in a society that is not as developed and where certain resources have not reached. After taking the quiz
my overall footprint was 4.6 planet earths. It surprised me very much because when I first went on the website I took the basic quiz first just to
get an idea of what the point of the test was, and I got a total of 5 planet earths. Once I was done I thought for sure that I would get a lot less if I had
to put in details, so I answered everything honestly and it only decreased by .4 planets. I was also surprised because for a few questions my answers
were "infrequently", or "occasionally" which I thought would help....show more content...
The lowest was a tie between mobility and shelter which both came in at 10%. I think the practices that had the greatest impact were the questions
about electricity amount and gas amount. Although in a city like Philadelphia where you obviously use more gas in the winter for heating purposes
and electricity in the summer for cooling purposes, the answers to those questions can differ by season. I think the other habit that might have increased
my footprint was the amount of packaged and non–locally grown foods that I consume. I selected the answer that mentions the can of ravioli with the
salad as a supplement. I do cook regularly, but everything is packaged or bought at a supermarket where the food is shipped from other parts. Even
the salads that I do eat are packaged and/or

Ecological Footprint: Social And Social Impacts
Within time, we all have essentially used our earth's resources to initially fulfill our needs. Yet, not taking into consideration within the implications of
the abuse we humans have upon planet earth. The Ecological Footprint associates societal and personal impacts we have on this earth ourselves. It
influences us to essentially make healthier choices. Thus, influence our governments as well. My survey results disclosed the following: My personal
earth overshoot day was April 7th and if everyone lived like me I would essentially need 3.8 earths compared to USA needing 5. The results were
kind of shocking to say the least as I never took into consideration of some of the questions asked within the test. We know America is within the
highest

Ecological Carbon Foot Print Assignment
he ecological/ carbon foot print assignment gave me insight on how people who live in least developed countries have to survive. The way they live
versus the way we live is mind–blowing. The things we take for granted are things they would love to have. I think the inequalities on earth is unfair.
We are all humans. It is not fair that people in least developed countries have to drink out of dirty water that don't provide nutritional value that our
water does. I never knew the lifestyle that I live have such a large effect on the environment. I have become so accustomed to my resources and
energy that I wouldn't know how to make a big change, but I can start small. My earths were 6.7 which I find way too many for one person. I need to
decrease

Ecological Footprint Analysis Paper
The concept of footprint analysis is that it can change overtime, depending on the number of individuals living in that particular area and by how much
they consume in terms of energy, technology, goods and resources. It gave me an idea of how much land water is needed to support my lifestyle,
determine my population, geography, climate, food and needs for energy. Moreover, it gives me a few ideas of what I can do to reduce my ecological
footprint in each consumption category such as transportation, housing, food and goods.
My results and what I learned are the fact that many activities impact our footprint and there would be a need for 5.2 Planet Earths to provide enough
resources if every other individual falls within the same ecological

Ecological Footprint Quiz
When I read that the average American consumes 35 times more resources than the average citizen of India I feel; helpless (d) and guilty (e).
Helpless because, although one person can make a difference, it becomes discouraging when your neighbors and/or community do/does not offer
services (green/solar energy) or practice the same habits (recycling). So I feel helpless as if at times my efforts are futile. And guilty because after this
week's ecological footprint quiz I see I am also part of the problem.
How I feel when I read that human activities are projected to make the earth's climate warmer are; sad (c), concerned (f). Sad because of the effect
climate change has on both species and ecosystems. The species of earth require the right temperatures, fresh water and food sources to survive
(National Wildlife Federation, 2016). Knowing our activities have such a catastrophic effect on the earth and the impending destruction of its habitats
and species is disheartening. Concerned because I do not think we, as a species, can get it together fast enough to actually make a significant...show
more content...
These feelings lead to a lack of responsibility, similar to helplessness; in the thinking of how much of a difference can one person make, and "if my
neighbor is not doing it why should I?" Skeptical thinking dismisses the thought that there is a problem at all; indifference may recognize the problem,
but does nothing about it. These mindsets or feelings are destructive and ultimately contribute to the decline of the environmental sustainability.
Concerned, outraged, sad, and guilty, in my opinion are the feelings that will help alleviate these problems. Educating and raising awareness about the
problems affecting the planets resources will generate these feelings, in turn, initiating action and motivation to make the necessary lifestyle changes to
contribute to green living and

Ecological Footprint Report And Recommendations

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