Ecological Footprint

An ecological footprint is the amount of land and water needed to supply the resources a person uses and the land needed to dispose of his waste. Some people have a larger ecological footprint than others. A billionaire with a private jet, multiple homes and cars, has much larger footprint than me. I walk everywhere and live in a small apartment. An energy poor family may even have a smaller footprint than me. The more you consume, the larger your ecological footprint. The more resources you use, the more waste you create. The ecological footprint measures our demand on nature. An individual, a family, or even a country has an ecological footprint.

Five Activities that Affect the Human Ecological Footprint

Built Environment - homes, roads, infrastructure, energy plants.
Agriculture - food, animal feed, biofuel, textiles
Fishing - yield from the oceans and rivers
Forest use - logging, construction, furniture, paper, firewood
Fossil fuels - production, transportation, heating, cooling

Ecological Overshoot

Ecological overshoot is when the Earth cannot regenerate or replace what is consumed by humans. A mathematical model has suggested that currently humans in one year consume the resources that take a year in a half to replace. This likely means we are operating in a resource deficit and we may face scarcity in the future.

Comments on the cartoon "Man's Footprint on the Planet Today" by John Ditchburn, 2006

The carton shows a humongous foot stepping through the Earth. “Man’s footprint on the planet today’ conveys the message that if we keep consuming so many resources, we will destroy the Earth. Our current ecological footprint is too large and too heavy.