This document provides guidance and resources for a graded student project on calculating ecological footprints. It includes definitions of key terms, short video clips and statistics about the global supply chain of t-shirts, maps and data visualizing issues like population growth, resource use, and pollution worldwide. Students are tasked with researching their own and another nation's ecological footprint using sources like the CIA World Factbook, writing a letter reflecting on consumption differences, and addressing how interconnected global consumption is and its impacts.

1. What is an Ecological Footprint?
Cost of a T-Shirt
Reflections on the T-Shirt
Earth’s Resources
Our Ecological Footprint
Letter to Another
World Factbook Comparison
Letter Brainstorm
Deadline: December 31, 2021
Unit 3 Graded Project:
What’s Your Ecological Footprint?
Topics:
Managing Resources & Industries

2. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 2/22
Graded Project: What’s Your Ecological Footprint?
Enduring Understanding & Outcomes
Driving Question: What is my ecological footprint?
• Greatness is harnessing the connectivity of today’s world to tackle our common
problems.
By the end of this project…
You will know:
• the concept eco footprint
• statistics and stories of global industrialization and globalization
• the stark differences in consumption worldwide
• human impact on natural resource levels
• affects on the environment in the industrializing nations
• uneven use of natural resources throughout the world
You can:
• articulate the vast interconnectedness of our world
• analyze, integrate a variety of sources types
• reflect on meaningful worldwide differences
• cite specific textual evidence to support analysis of sources
• make evidence-based inferences and conclusions
• construct formal writing based on an integration of sources, personal learning

3. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 3/22
What is an Ecological Footprint?
Definition
IS
Synonyms
Adjectives
Examples
Opposites
ISN’T
Antonyms
Non-Adjectives
Non-Examples
Picture
We also say “eco footprint” instead of “ecological footprint”

4. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 4/22
Cost of a T-Shirt
How Does A T-Shirt Show Global Consumption?
• As you watch the series of short video clips and look through the accompanying
writings, take notes on the people’s stories and the statistics generated in order to
create a humble T-shirt.
Global Travel of a T-shirt
• Mark and connect all the places in which a t-shirt goes before it arrives on your
doorstep in North America.
What’s Their Role In This Story? What Stats Help Tell That Story?
Bowen, from…
Jasmine, from…
Doris, from…

5. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 5/22
Reflections on the T-Shirt
Using what you learned from Planet Money’s reporting and your own closet’s contents,
reflect on the following:
• How many t-shirts do you have? Where were they made?
• On average, how much did they cost? Were some even “free?”
• Where do your old t-shirts go when you are done with them?
• What was the most surprising fact you learned from Planet Money’s project?
• What similarities, what differences do you have with Jasmine and Doris?
• How did it feel when those in the video were asked what they would say to you?
• How does it take an entire world to make just one t-shirt?
• What is the full cost of making just one t-shirt?

6. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 6/22
Earth’s Resources
How is a Growing Population Affecting Resources?
• There is no question that natural resources are feeling the affect of the world’s
relatively recent massive population growth.
• What experts don’t know is the tipping point where our natural resources will cease to
regenerate and sustain.
• For each map in this collection, highlight causes for change in the data and circle
areas of extreme concern.
• Afterwards, write a meaningful single sentence beneath incorporating your learning
from all the maps.
• It's not difficult to see where on Earth the human footprint is having the greatest
impact.
• The world's population today is getting close to eight billion - up from just two billion
in 1930 - with the highest population densities in India and China, both with
populations just under 1.4 billion.
• All of Europe, by contrast, has about 750 million people.
• In , , and the
dark red has essentially
POPULATION DENSITY

7. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 7/22
• The total number of people on the planet is still growing steadily and is expected to
reach nine to ten billion by 2050.
• Over the next half century, 98 percent of this growth will take place in the developing
world, where resources are being consumed faster than they can be renewed.
• This map shows recent annual rates of population growth worldwide and the
alarmingly short intervals at which some populations will double in size.
• The population growth has been mostly in because
• Populations are becoming increasingly urbanized. In 1900, 40 percent of all people
lived in cities.
POPULATION GROWTH RATES
CITY LIGHTS OF THE WORLD

8. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 8/22
• Experts predict that by 2050, close to 70% of the population will do so. The largest
share of this escalation will occur in countries where the demand for infrastructure
(clean water, sewage systems, and electricity) is already strained.
• City populations consume vast amounts of energy and create air and water pollution
affecting human health, local natural habitats, and the global environment.
• Urban planning is becoming increasingly important to creativity and efficiently allow
people to live in denser and denser areas.
• Light represents which means entire regions are
becoming
• Water covers roughly 70 percent of Earth's surface, but only 2.5 percent of it is
freshwater, which humans need for irrigation, drinking water, and other everyday
uses.
• According to the United Nations, the scarcity of freshwater due to overuse and
contamination will be the second most pressing global concern in the 21st century,
after population growth.
• On the map above, countries with less than 5,000 cubic meters of freshwater per
capita are considered short of water.
• Experts believe that people may be able to replenish water tables with new water-
saving irrigation methods, bioengineered crops that require less water, rainwater
harvesting, and public information campaigns, but it will be centuries, if ever, before
freshwater is plentiful again worldwide.
• People are living in places where
FRESHWATER RESOURCES

9. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 9/22
GLOBAL WARMING
• The amount of carbon dioxide polluting our atmosphere has risen 30 percent in the
last 200 years as a result of increasing industrial and automobile emissions.
• Plants convert carbon dioxide back to oxygen, but human activities are now releasing
more carbon dioxide than the world's plants can process.
• This map shows today's greatest polluters - the United States, Europe, China, and
Japan. In the next 50 years, as industrialization increases, many of the areas on this
map will all turn to darker unless stricter emissions standards for factories and cars are
put in place.
• The darkest color is mostly in places that have been
, but the real concern is when places like
CARBON EMISSIONS
GLOBAL WARMING

10. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 10/22
• Climatologists blame air pollution from carbon dioxide and other fossil fuel emissions
for global warming, as the buildup of these gases in the air acts like a blanket,
trapping heat close to Earth.
• They predict that over the next 100 years, surface temperatures will increase up to 11
degrees Fahrenheit worldwide. In arid regions, this could result in a sharp reduction in
the amount of rivers and lake water.
• In cooler regions, intense thaws could cause severe flooding.
• Agricultural zones would shift radically, and hundreds of plant and animal species
would face extinction. In most places in the world it’s warmer than in previous
decades.
• What’s most alarming about warming in
is
• Experts estimate that almost half of the forests that once covered Earth have
disappeared, along with many indigenous plant and animal species.
• A large portion of this forest loss has occurred over the several decades through
aggressive logging and agricultural clearing. frontier forests are defined as the last of
the remaining original forest ecosystems that existed before human intervention began
about 8,000 years ago.
• Modified forests, on the other hand, include areas of significant human intervention.
It’s estimated that nearly 40 percent of the world's remaining forests are endangered.
• The only remaining forests are located ; however, these are
endangered because
WORLD FORESTS

11. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 11/22
• According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, humans have altered
approximately half of all the land on Earth for our own uses - around 22 percent for
farming and forestry combined, 26 percent for pasture areas, and 2 to 3 percent for
housing, industry, and roads.
• Population growth will necessitate further conversion of land, which in some regions
can interfere with natural defenses against flooding, landslides, and erosion.
• Furthermore, experts believe that the abundance of agricultural topsoil on which our
food supply depends is sharply diminishing due to overuse, urbanization, and other
human-induced factors.
• The real concern is how people are moving to places like
because
.
HUMANTRANSFORMATION OFLAND
CORAL REEF BLEACHING AND OCEAN HOT
SPOTS

12. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 12/22
• The by-products of human population growth threaten animal species in nearly every
habitat on Earth.
• In the oceans, for example, overfishing has already decimated numerous species, and
rising temperatures from global warming, as indicated on the map above, threaten
many more animals native to coral reefs, which are home to over 25 percent of all sea
creatures.
• Scientists are alarmed by the recent increase in coral reef "bleaching," a sign of grave
ill health, and some have predicted that more than half of the world's reefs may be
gone by the year 2030. If that happens, thousands of animal species, and many islands
whose shorelines are protected by reefs, will eventually disappear.
• Effects are being seen which means even the
slightest temperature changes
.
Reflection
1/ The general trend of the world’s natural resources is…
2/ The two maps that seem to be the most connected are
because…
3/ I didn’t realize…
4/ The most shocking map is
because…

13. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 13/22
Our Ecological Footprint
How Much World Do We Consume?
• A person’s ecological footprint is overwhelmingly predetermined by the country and
social status in which one is born and lives.
• Collectively, we as a global population are consuming a larger amount of the world’s
natural resources each year - that is clear.
• But the numbers also tell us how uneven that consumption is.
• How does your eco footprint compare in number, visual, and sound and in with those
around the world?
Measuring Ecological Footprint
• Experts use the unit of global hectares, or GHA, (100 by 100 meters, or about the size
of an international soccer field) to measure the amount of earth one person’s lifestyle
requires.
• However, that doesn’t indicate if there actually is that amount of earth available.
• A more understandable measurement is in planets, as in, how many planets would
there need to be if everyone lived a certain lifestyle.
• When you calculate your own ecological footprint using the tool below, your score
will be in this more user-friendly measurement - a score of 6.4 planets, for example.
• This calculator is a nice balance of easy-to-use yet allows for precise answers.
• Eco Footprint calculator: https://www.footprintcalculator.org/
Popcorn Footprint Simulation
• First, listen and record how different eco footprints compare. Then, analyze two data
displays for what they tell us.
6 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
8 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
What did you hear?
30 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
36 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
51 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
What did you hear?

14. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 14/22
86 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
126 popcorn kernels = GHA, representing the eco footprint of
What did you hear?
Answer these questions:
1/ The biggest difference I heard across these different eco footprints was…
2/ The most shocking thing I learned about these different eco footprints is…
3/ This demonstration makes me feel like the world’s natural resources are becoming…
Ecological Footprint By Country
One comparison I can make using the data in this map is…
One prediction I can make using the data in this map is…
Jolly Janner

15. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 15/22
Us Ecological Footprint By Income
One comparison I can make using the data in this graph is…
One prediction I can make using the data in this graph is…
CC BY-ND Environmental International

16. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 16/22
Letter to Another
How Are You Connected With The World?
• Sadly, it’s really way more than half.
• You are richer and indulge in a far grander lifestyle than well more than half of the
rest of the world.
• Even the poorest 5% of North Americans are wealthier than 68% of the rest of the
world.
• These people dream of your lavish lifestyle, your giant eco footprint.
• Is it fair, then, to say they don’t deserve the privilege to consume, to pollute, to take
up the same amount of the earth’s resources as you?
• How do you explain that to yourself? To them?
Your Graded Project
1) Gain some statistical background knowledge.
• What percent of the world do you think live on these amounts each day?
My Guess Actual
Percentage of the world who live on $1.90 a day or less
Percentage of the world who live on $5.50 a day or less
Percentage of the world who live on $10 a day or less
2) See how one family from a developing nation lives.
• Circle your assigned nation and take notes on the family from: Bhutan, Brazil, Cuba,
Ethiopia, Guatemala, Haiti, India, Mali, Mexico, Mongolia, Thailand, Uzbekistan, or
Vietnam
a) What does this family possess?
b) What doesn’t this family possess?

17. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 17/22
c) What daily standard of living experiences (cooking, hygiene, etc.) does this family
encounter that you do not?
d) In what ways is your life similar to that of the people in this family?
3) Research that nation as a whole.
• Examine and take notes on that family’s nation using the CIA’s World Factbook
website, comparing to here
• Look up that nation’s average eco footprint, comparing it to ours
a) How does the Material World family compare to the national averages for their
country?
b) The average eco footprint for their nation is global hectares, while
Canada’s average is global hectares, United States average is .
, and China is .
4) Reflect on your learning and outline your letter.
• Answer the knowledge questions; think about the reflection questions on your Letter
Brainstorm sheet
5) Write letter
• Be thoughtful, be respectful, be specific using the guidelines on the Letter Brainstorm
sheet

18. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 18/22
World Factbook Comparison
How Do We Compare To This Other Nation?
• The CIA maintains an incredible database of every nation and nation-like entity in the
world. It’s a trustworthy, easy to use reference, perfect for this sort of research.
• Locate both your country’s page and your assigned nation’s page to learn the various
facts and statistics below.
What is this Nation’s
Total infant mortality rate
Total life expectancy at birth
Total improved drinking water %
Total improved sanitation facility access
Major infectious diseases
Children under 5 underweight %
Total population literacy %
Most recent GDP per capita
Total population electrification %
Electrification consumption
Refined petroleum products consumption
Carbon dioxide emissions from consumption
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100
Internet user %
Annual passenger traffic on registered air carriers
Total roadways

19. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 19/22
Overall, my nation has a lifestyle that is…
Overall, has a lifestyle that is…
Most surprisingly is the contrast when it comes to…

20. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 20/22
Letter Brainstorm
How Can You Express What You Now Know?
• Considering everything you now know, what do you say to this family?
• About you, about them, about the growing and shrinking world in which you both
live?
• About the impending carrying capacity limited?
• About the increasing competition for scarce resources as nations like theirs
industrialize to enjoy the luxuries that are everyday to you?
• How do you say it all sincerely and respectfully?
Review what you have learned
• Thoughtfully summarize using the sentence stems below
 The manufacturing of most goods is now…
 The world’s natural resources have been…
 When examined nation by nation, this consumption of manufactured good (and
natural resources that go into them) is…
Reflect on your life compared to this family’s
• Thoughtfully consider your answers to the following questions
 What do you have in common? What don’t you have in common?
 What do they have that makes them different from you?
 What don’t they have that makes them different from you?
 Do they deserve to have the same lifestyle you have?
 Do they deserve to have the same eco footprint as you?
 What going to happen if or when they are able to have the same eco footprint as you?
 How do you feel about all of this?
 What should you tell them about your lifestyle and position in the world?
 What should be done about all of this?

21. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 21/22
Write your letter to a member of this family
• Address your letter to a specific person from the family, speaking directly to them
• Include many specific details from the unit’s activities, income level percentages, eco
footprint numbers, Material World photos and descriptions, World Factbook statistics
• Create a personal voice with strong emotion and reflection
Reflection
The easiest part of writing my letter was….
The hardest part of writing my letter was….
By writing this letter, I realized / learned…..
Seeing other letters made me realize…

22. Unit 3 Project – What is Your Ecological Footprint? Page 22/22
Rubric
Writing Write informative text, organizing ideas, formatting to aid comprehension, and using precise
language.(x3)
Level 4
(80-100%)
Level 3
(70-79%)
Level 2
(60-69%)
Level 1
(50-59%)
INC/R
Creates a well-developed
and powerful letter;
masterfully demonstrates
rich meaning from
information learned from
unit and project’s
resources as well as
reflection by weaving in a
strong personal voice;
maintains effortless flow
through thoughtful
organization.
Creates a developed and
detailed letter;
demonstrates meaning
from information
learned from unit and
project’s resources as
well as reflection by
weaving in personal
voice; maintains flow
through clear
organization.
Creates a limitedly
developed and detailed
letter; demonstrates
limited meaning from
information learned
from unit and project’s
resources; limitedly or
inappropriatelyreflects;
maintainslimited
organization flow.
Creates a very
limitedly developed
and detailed letter;
demonstrates very
limited meaning from
information learned
from unit and project’s
resources;very
limitedlyor
inappropriately
reflects; maintains
very limited
organization flow.
EvidenceSynthesizemultiplepiecesofrelevantinformationfromauthoritativesourcestosupportanalysis
andreflection, demonstrating understandingofthesubject.
Offers many specific and
diverse pieces of
powerful evidence from a
wide variety of sources;
deliberately placesand
usesevidenceto
strengthen and support
overallmessage.
Offers some specific
and diverse pieces of
powerful evidence
from a variety of
sources;placesand
uses evidence to
strengthen and support
overall message.
Offers limited specific
and diverse pieces of
powerful evidence from
a limited variety
sources; limitedly
places and uses
evidence to support an
overall message.
Offers very ted specific
and diverse pieces of
powerful evidence from a
very limited variety
sources; very limitedly
places and uses evidence
to support an overall
message.
Communication– grammar, punctuation and capitalization .
All subject and verbs are
in agreement throughout
the letter. There are no
tense errors.
All capitalization is used
correctly throughout the
letter.
All sentences have correct
punctuation.
Most subject and verbs
are in agreement in the
letter. Most verbs are
in the correct tense.
Most sentences have
correct capitalization.
Most sentences have
correct punctuation.
Some subject and verbs
agree in the letter. Some
verbs are not in the
correct tense.
Some sentences have
correct capitalization.
Some sentences have
correct punctuation.
The subjects do not agree
with the verbs. Almost all
verbs are used incorrectly.
Almost no sentences have
the correct capitalization.
Almost no sentences have
correct punctuation.
Note: - letter must be 400 - 500 words
- up to a 20 percent penalty for a non-professional presentation and/or failure of
submitting this rubric