Calculating Your Ecological Footprint

Ecological definitions

Stewardship: the management of resources ina careful and sustainable way.

Sustainability: approach to development thatmeets the needs of the present without negativelyaffecting the ability of future generationsto meet their needs.

Ecological footprint EF: measure of total humanimpact on an ecosystem.

Part I - HOME

1- How many people live in your household?

Pointsa) 1 30b) 2 25c) 3 20d) 4 15e) 5 10

2- How is your home heated?

a) natural gas 30b) electricity 40c) oil 50d) renewable (solar, wind) 0

3- How many individual faucets and toilets do you have in your home?

a) less than 5b) 3-5 10c) 6-8 15d) 8-10 20e) 10+ 25

Part II - FOOD

4- How many meals per week do you eat with meat or fish?

Pointsa) 0 0b) 1-3 10c) 4-6 20d) 7-10 35e) 10+ 50

5- How many home-made meals do you eat per week (including those you bring to school or work)?

a) under 10 25b) 10-14 20c) 14-18 15d) 18+ 10

6- When purchasing your food items, does your family try to buy locally produced goods?

a) yes 25b) no 125c) sometimes 50d) rarely 100e) don’t know 75

Part III - TRANSPORTATIO

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7- If you or your family own vehicles, what type are they? Add points for each type of vehicle.

Pointsa) motorcycle 15b) small-compact 35c) mid-sized 60d) full-sized 75e) SUV or van 100f) truck 130

8- How do you get to school/work?

a) car 50b) public transit 25c) school bus 20d) walk 0e) bike or roller blade 0

9- How many trips do you make per week on public transit?

a) 0 50b) 1-5 40c) 6-10 30d) 11-15 20e) 15+ 10

10- Where did you go on vacation in the last year (since last summer)?

a) no vacation 0b) in the province 10c) another province 30d) to the US 40e) outside North America 70

11- How many summer weekend trips do you take by car (since last summer)?

a) 0 0b) 1-3 10c) 4-6 20d) 7-9 30e) 9+ 40

Part IV - PURCHASES

12- How many large purchases (e.g., stereo, TV, VCR, computer, car, furniture, etc.) has your household made in the past year?

Pointsa) 0 0b) 1-3 15c) 4-6 30d) 6+ 45

13- Have you bought any energy efficient products in the past year (e.g., light bulbs, fridges, stoves, toilets)?

a) yes 0b) no 25

Part V - WASTE

14- Does your household try to reduce the amount of waste created in the house (e.g., buying food in bulk, refusing junk mail/flyers, using reusable containers for storage, using natural cleaners?

a) always 0b) sometimes 10c) rarely 20d) never 30

15- Does your household compost?

a) always 0b) sometimes 10c) rarely 15d) never 20

16- Does your household recycle newspapers, cardboard/boxboard/pizza boxes, fine paper, aluminium cans, glass/plastic bottles and other materials?

a) always 0b) sometimes 10c) rarely 15d) never 20

17- How many garbage bags of waste do you set out for pick-up each week?

a) 0 0b) one, half-full 5c) 1 10d) 2 20e) 2+ 30

What’s a Fair Earth share?Total your score by adding up the points from each

question, and compare it to the following chart.

Your Score Ecological Footprint in Hectares

Less than 150 Less than 4.0150 – 350 4.0 - 6.0350 – 550 6.0 - 7.7*550 - 750 7.7 - 10.0More than 750 More than 10.0

* The Canadian average.

Country Ecological Footprint Rankings (2003)

(Hectares per person)

United States 9.6Canada 7.6France 5.6United Kingdom 5.6Ireland 5.0Russia 4.4 Italy 4.2Costa Rica 4.2

Mexico 2.6Malaysia 2.2World Average 2.2China 1.6Egypt 1.4India 0.8Bangladesh 0.5Afghanistan 0.1