Reference no: EM133505669

Case Study: The ecological footprint concept summarizes the total land and water area required by each person, city or nation to produce all the resources it consumes and to absorb all the waste it generates. One way to estimate the ecological footprint of the entire human population is to add up all the ecologically productive land on the planet and divide by the population.

This calculation yields approximately 2 hectares (ha) per person (1 ha = 2.47 acres). Reserving some land for parks and conservation means reducing this allotment to 1.7 ha per person-the benchmark for comparing actual ecological footprints. Anyone who consumes resources that require more than 1.7 ha to produce is said to be using an unsustainable share of the earth's resources. A typical ecological footprint for a person in the United States is about 10 ha.

Ecologists sometimes calculate ecological footprints using other currencies besides land area. For instance, the amount of photosynthesis that occurs on Earth is finite, constrained by the amount of land and sea area and by the sun's radiation. Scientists recently studied the extent to which people around the world consume seven types of photosynthetic products: plant foods, wood for building and fuel, paper, fiber, meat, milk, and eggs.

Areas with high population densities, such as China and India, have high consumption rates. However, areas of much lower population density but higher per capita consumption, such as parts of the United States and Europe, have equally high rates, as much as 400 times the rate at which photosynthetic products are produced locally. The combination of population density and resource use per person determines our global ecological footprint. (Excerpted from Biology Eighth Edition by Campbell, Reece, Et al.)

Answer these questions:

Report the results of your Ecological Footprint Self-Quiz.

1. Under Result Part 1: (A) What is your Personal Earth Overshoot Day? (B) If everyone lived like you, how many earth's would be needed?
2. Under Result Part 2: (A) What is your Ecological Footprint? (B) What is your Carbon Footprint? (C) Under "By Consumption Category" which area is your highest consumption area? (D) which area is your lowest consumption area?
3. (A) Describe 3 changes can you make as an individual to reduce your ecological footprint? (B) Describe what impact each change would have on the environment.