A quick Internet search of the phrase 'ecological footprint calculator' will uncover several sites where you're able to measure your own personal footprint. The calculation itself is complex, so walking through the steps within a text lesson is unnecessary.
However, should you decide to determine your footprint, the calculation takes into account items such as transportation habits, home size, heating/cooling sources, food consumption, energy usage, water sources, recycling and habits (to name a few). Essentially, calculating your footprint means analyzing your lifestyle.
With whatever calculator you use, low calculated numbers are better. As a generality, here's an example of how different countries break down.
Global Footprints
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This picture is very revealing. It indicates that much of the world lives unsustainably. In other words, people are consuming resources faster than they can be replenished. From an environmental or ecological perspective, this is bad. It means the world we know cannot persist in its current state. It means we need to change our lifestyles and focus on sustainability.
Our Lifestyles
Sustainability refers to a manner of living in which resources are able to last for a long time or replenish themselves. It's kind of like budgeting. Suppose you receive $100 per week and are free to use it however you choose. If you spend $50 per day, you'll run out of money before mid-week. That isn't sustainable. On the other hand, if you spend $10 per day, you'll have enough money to last the entire week (with some reserve). That is sustainable.
Today, the world population is so large that the lifestyles many people lead aren't sustainable. Our Earthly resources are being consumed at a higher rate than they can be replenished. To assess the sustainability of individual lifestyles, we must examine our footprints.
How do we know people are living unsustainably? What are the signs? Well, in the scientific community it's very clear. Our global reserves of fossil fuels (oil, coal, and natural gas) are rapidly being depleted. Fossil fuels are energy sources derived from long dead organic material. These fuels take millions of years to form. People are consuming them much quicker than they can be replaced.
Also, many scientists agree that ocean fish populations are in steep decline. This is due to overfishing. Again, resource removal is exceeding replenishment.
These are just two examples. Many more exist. Species extinction, climate change, war, famine, and disease all have relationships to sustainable lifestyles and the human population.
Lessening Your Impact
There are several steps to reducing your ecological footprint. Generally, these steps do not involve drastic change and include actions such as taking shorter showers, carpooling, using energy efficient appliances, and recycling. Remember that in ecological footprint calculations, low numbers are better. To change your footprint, focus on reducing high number values.
Lesson Summary
The human population is very high and impacts all areas of the Earth. Many of those people do not live sustainably. Sustainability refers to a manner of living in which resources are able to last for a long time or replenish themselves.
To assess the sustainability of individual lifestyles we refer to our ecological footprint. An ecological footprint is a tool for measuring the demand placed on nature. Much of this demand comes from energy usage. One of the primary sources of global energy is fossil fuels. Fossil fuels are energy sources derived from long dead organic material.
Reducing energy usage and ecological footprints isn't difficult and only takes some small changes to your lifestyle to achieve.
