Name: ______Ecological Footprint Activity 20 points
Go to my Web site and find this document. Open it. Click through the links, starting with this one: http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/ You will be determining your ecological footprint.
Everyone and everything everyone does leave an impact. EVERYTHING has an environmental impact. An ecological footprint (given in hectares: 1 hectare=2.47 acres=12,000 yds 2) is the productive land and water required to provide renewable resources needed for goods and services (food, gas, computers, etc.) AND to absorb or break down the wastes from this resource use. In other words, it’s the amount of Earth’s natural capital and income we use to support our lifestyles. It’s the footprint you leave on the environment.
You will be investigating how sustainable you are as an individual. Answer the questions honestly. Work through the icons from left to right. While you are playing the game, answer the following questions:
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT 1. Why do you think you had to select the country you live in to start this footprint calculator?
Make sure at this point you are in the section “Enter Detailed Information” as you go through. 2. Why do you think they ask you about your eating habits?
3. Why is the packaging of your food important to your ecological footprint?
4. Why do garbage cans get placed in the scene when you select your clothing and household item purchases?
5. What is the significance of asking what kind of electricity you use?
6. Write down the summary scores. Hold the cursor over the pie chart to get the percentages that each contributes to your ecological footprint.
Your food___ Your shelter____ Your mobility____ Your goods____ Your services____ Global acres_____ Total Earths___
7. . How many Earth’s does it take to sustain your lifestyle?
8. What factor(s) contributed the most to this number? Explain why.
Turn over Replay the game, but this time make changes that you think are feasible in you lifestyle. Example: Ride a bike, or eat fewer meals out of the house. Remember, everything you do leaves a carbon footprint, and little changes can make a difference. Don’t try and be the “green giant”! Realistic changes please.
9. What changes did you make? Be specific.
10.How did this change your ecological footprint? Retally your scores.
Your food___ Your shelter____ Your mobility____ Your goods____ Your services____ Global acres_____ Total Earths___
Go to this website: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/09/treehugger-ecological- foo_n_156470.html and scroll down to the graph that shows Ecological Footprint by Region.
11.What are the x and y axes labels?
12. Explain the significance of what this graph is showing. DO NOT COPY THE INFO BENEATH THE GRAPH. That is not what I’m asking for. I want to know the big picture.
WATER FOOTPRINT
Your ecological footprint above concerned BOTH land and water.
You can’t live without water, so your next investigation is to determine your water usage ONLY is. You use a great deal of water every day, and in many cases you may not even know it. Go to http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/freshwater/water-footprint-calculator and take the Water Footprint Calculator.
13.Write your results for your water usage:
14.Name 3 ways you can easily cut your water consumption:
Conclusion: 5 points Neatly write a paragraph that expresses your opinion on the game. Are you willing to make small or large changes? Are the changes this lab talks about possible for you? Why or why not? Finally, talk about your sustainability score and your reactions to this number.