Once you’ve completed the Week 1 – Eco Moment (Ecological Footprint), click Reply below.  Title your submission with your Last Name, First Name (e.g., Smith, Alex) and paste in your “Ecological Footprint Data Table” containing your results.  You are also welcome to attach the results in .PDF format, but other file formats or URLs are NOT permitted for data sharing. 

 https://www.footprintnetwork.org/resources/footprint-calculator/ 

Description

What is your personal Ecological Footprint?

According to the Global Footprint Network (n.d.), the Ecological Footprint is defined as “a measure of how much area of biologically productive land and water an individual, population or activity requires to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb the waste it generates, using prevailing technology and resource management practices.” A personal Ecological Footprint thus reflects the impact an individual’s lifestyle has on the environment.

To calculate your personal Ecological Footprint, visit the calculator by the Global Footprint Network available here:
http://footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/calculators/

Please fill in the table, providing data on yourself only along with your personal Ecological Footprint results:

Ecological Footprint Data Table

Survey Yourself

On average, I eat some form of meat (fish, chicken, etc.) for ______ meals per day / ______ days per week.

On average, I use ______ plastic bags to carry home groceries of other purchased goods each week.

On average, I use ______ bottled waters each day.

On average, I bring in ______ homemade packed lunches to school/work each week.

On average, ______% of my groceries are certified-organic each week:

Your Ecological Footprint

My Ecological Footprint is ______ global hectares (gha) or ______ acres. (Tip: 1 gha = 2.5 acres)

My Ecological Footprint is broken down in the following consumption categories:

Food: ______ gha

Shelter: ______ gha

Mobility: ______ gha

Goods: ______ gha

Services: ______ gha

If everyone lived like you, we would need ______ Earths.

Note: This is only a partial data table for sharing your data in class. Please be sure to save your complete calculator results, as you will need to reference them when you write up your Data Project 1 report.

 Keep in mind that this data will be used for your Data Project 1, which is due at the end of Week 2. Thus, do not forget to share your Ecological Footprint Data Table in the correct “Shared Data” Discussion by the end of Week 1.

 Take some time to think about your Ecological Footprint results. For example:

• What does your Ecological Footprint mean? How does it compare to the productive area available for each person?
• Is this sustainable? What are the consequences if everyone lived like you?
• What can you do to reduce your Ecological Footprint? How can these actions also result in cost savings?