Ecological Footprint

“There are no passengers on spaceship Earth; we are all crew.”

Marshall McLuhan

Ecological Footprint

We travel great distances, eat

food from far away, use

recreational facilities, wear

clothing for different seasons

and produce garbage.

Today we lead very

advanced lives and use

materials and energy

every day.

Ecological Footprint

The ecological footprint measures how much natural resources you use every day.

Transportation

ClothingFood

Energy

Waste production

Housing

Ecological FootprintThe ecological footprint measures our consumption in acres or hectares.

Does anyone know what a hectare is?

One hectare = 100 metres by 100 metres

100m

10

0m10,000m2

Ecological Footprint

The more you consume,

the larger your footprint

will be!

Fun stuff!Food

Clothes

Housing

Energy!

Water…..

Waste

Ecological Footprint

If everyone

consumed as

much as

Canadians, we

would need …

FOUR EARTHS!

Ecological Footprint

The average

Canadian has an

ecological footprint of

7.8 hectares.

The average

Albertan has a

footprint of 10.7

hectares per

person!

Ecological Footprint

Why do other countries have

a smaller footprint?• They might use manure as an energy source

• They might walk or bike more

• They might not consume a lot

• They might reuse a lot of what they have

Ecological Footprint

How to reduce your ecological footprint.

• Drive less• Buy locally• Reuse clothing• Buy what you need• Trade items• Recycle

Ecological Footprint

Can you think of other ways to reduce your

footprint?

Ecological FootprintQuiz time!

Q: What does the ecological footprint calculate?

A: It measures how much land it takes to sustain your lifestyle.

Ecological Footprint

Q: What is the average ecological footprint for Canadians?

A: It is 7.8 hectares per person.

Ecological Footprint

Okay! Now that you know what the ecological footprint is, you can calculate your own.

Think of ways to reduce your footprint!

Ecological Footprint

http://www.earthday.org/