Calculating Your Ecological Footprint Sustainability, Part 2

www.asu.edu/asu101

Calculating Your Ecological Footprint

Sustainability, Part 2

Presenter Name, Ph.D.Presenter Title Arizona State University

Last updated 08-22-07

© 2007 Arizona State University

By the end of this activity, you will be able to• define the concept of an ecological

footprint.

• list those things in your daily life that contribute the most to the size of your footprint.


What do people need?

• All humans need basic things for their material and physical well-being– Air– Food– Water– Shelter

Adapted from http://www.rprogress.org/


How do people meet these needs?• In general, we produce these necessities from resources

that are extracted from the earth• In the process, we

create waste streams that flow back into our environment.

http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/default.asp


Products and the Environment

• At first glance, the relationship between products and the environment may seem clear,

BUT….http://www.epa.vic.gov.au/ecologicalfootprint/default.asp


Let’s consider a simple french fry.

• What impact does it have?


How did the fry get to Bob’s Burger Shop?

Producer

Distribution Center

Processing Plant

Suppliers

Bob’s Burger Shop

Truck

Truck

Truck

Truck

http://www.rprogress.org/


What impact did its journey have?

Producer

Distribution Center

Processing Plant

Suppliers

Bob’s Burger Shop

Truck

Truck

Truck

Truck

Fossil FuelsFossil Fuels

Freezer

Fertilizers

Pesticides

Machinery

Hydropower

Fossil Fuels

Machinery

Fossil Fuels

Packaging

Hydroflourocarbons

Irrigation

Hydropower

Freezer

Food waste

Machinery

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Hydroelectric dam

Fossil Fuels

Animal Feed

Irrigation

Seeds



What impact did these impacts have?

Runoff

AirPollution

Loss ofBiodiversity

SolidWaste

AirPollution Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Freezer

Fertilizers

Pesticides

Truck

Truck

Machinery

Hydropower

Truck

Fossil Fuels

Machinery

Fossil Fuels

Damage To Ozone

Packaging

Hydroflourocarbons

Irrigation

Hydropower

Freezer

Food waste

Machinery Producer

Distribution Center

Processing Plant

Suppliers

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Truck

Hydroelectric dam

Loss ofBiodiversity

Fossil Fuels

Animal Feed

Loss ofBiodiversity

Irrigation

Seeds

Fossil Fuels

Bob’s Burger Shop

AirPollution



How might all of this affect the earth’s systems?

Runoff

AirPollution

Loss ofBiodiversity

SolidWaste

AirPollution Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Freezer

Fertilizers

Pesticides

Truck

Truck

Machinery

Hydropower

Truck

Fossil Fuels

Machinery

Fossil Fuels

Damage To Ozone

Packaging

Hydroflourocarbons

Forests

Irrigation

Forests Built-up Land

Grazing Land

Forests

River

Cropland

Hydropower

Freezer

Food waste

Machinery Producer

Distribution Center

Processing Plant

Suppliers

Bob’s Burger Shop

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Fossil Fuels

Truck

Hydroelectric dam

Loss ofBiodiversity

Fossil Fuels

Built-up Land

Animal Feed

Loss ofBiodiversity

Irrigation

Seeds

AirPollution

Forests



And that was just the potato!• Consider all the other

parts of your meal– the other foods– the utensils– the napkins– the condiments– the drinks…

• There are multiple environmental impacts involved in these as well.


There are social impacts, too.

• Who did the work that brought the food to your table?

• Under what conditions did they work?


Every choice we make has an impact on the planet.• An ecological

footprint is a tool to measure our environmental impact. – It tracks how much

individuals, organizations, cities, regions, or nations as a whole consume and compares this amount to the resources nature can provide.

http://www.footprintnetwork.org


How big is your footprint?

• There are currently about 6.7 billion people on the earth.

• Do you believe that the planet has the capability to support your lifestyle for everyone?


Let’s find out!• In the following activity,

you will be guided through a series of questions that will be used to estimate your ecological footprint.

• After you have completed the Quiz, you will record the result and then take the quiz twice more, making modifications as directed.

Select the link above to take the quiz. When you’re done, close the pop-up window and return to this website

Click here to begin.


Results - Your Current Lifestyle

• According to this website, if everyone lived like me, we would need _________ planets to support humanity.


What if you made some simple changes?

• Repeat the survey, but this time answer the questions hypothetically, based on modifications that you could easily make in your current lifestyle to reduce your ecological footprint.

Select the link above to take the quiz a second time. When you’re done, close the pop-up window and return to this website



Results - With Simple Changes

• According to this website, if If I attempted to reduce my ecological footprint by making a few easy changes in my lifestyle, we would need _________ planets to support humanity.


What if you made some difficult changes?

• Repeat the survey one last time, based on modifications that you could theoretically make, but that would be very difficult for you, or would represent a substantial change from the way you live now.

Select the link above to take the quiz a final time. When you’re done, close the pop-up window and return to this website



Results - With Difficult Changes

• According to this website, if If I attempted to reduce my ecological footprint by making substantial changes in my lifestyle, we would need _________ planets to support humanity.


How you compare…You Now = 7.6 Earths

You With Simple Changes: 7.2 Earths

You With Difficult Changes: 5.1 Earths

Average North American: 5.3 Earths


Reflection• What about your current

lifestyle do you believe causes the greatest impact?

• Are you likely to make changes in your lifestyle in order to reduce your ecological footprint? – Why or why not?


Remember-- • There are many different

types of ecological footprint surveys. – Some are based upon very

detailed information, while some are calculated using just a few specific pieces of information.

• Ecological footprints can be used to describe the entire human population, an individual, or any sized entity in between.

http://www.allspecies.org/neigh/nbrfootp.htm


• One criticism of footprints is that different groups define and measure footprints differently, making it difficult to make comparisons across regions or nations.

• The Global Footprint Network is an organization whose mission is to calculate footprints to provide information about resource use to decision-makers. – They use and advocate strict standards to assure the scientific

integrity of the measurements used to calculate footprints.– To learn more, see

• http://www.footprintnetwork.org/• http://www.footprintnetwork.org/gfn_sub.php?content=standards


Links for Further InformationThe Global Footprint Networkhttp://www.footprintnetwork.org/

Sustainable UK Lifestyle Assessment(Includes a downloadable excel spreadsheet to calculate the sustainability of your lifestyle on a variety of dimensions)http://www.sus-uk.com/individuals/

The Nature Conservancy’s Climate Change Calculatorhttp://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/

The University Of British Columbia’s Sustainability Survey and Eco-Footprint Calculatorhttp://www.sustain.ubc.ca/eco-survey/

Calculator for Kidshttp://www.islandwood.org/kids/impact/footprint/index.php


• You have completed Part 2 of the sustainability component of ASU 101.

– See you in class!

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Calculating Your Ecological Footprint Sustainability, Part 2