Enviormental

 Ecological Footprints

Environmental Problems and Connections in Nature

Ecological footprints provide a way to measure the area of the earth needed to sustain individuals and a nation's consumption of resources and other goods and services which generate a foot print. Footprint size varies depending on how goods and services are made and how much we consume. If a country's footprint exceeds its biocapacity it is engaging in overshoot.

The human population's ecological footprint exceeds the Earth's biocapacity by 40% or 57 acres per person, while the Earth's biological capacity is 41 acres. The ecological footprint is becoming an accurate tool for monitoring the human impact on the Earth's life support systems. How big is your Ecological Foot visit the Global Footprint Network and click the Global Footprint Calculator link. Take the quiz. The quiz is based on national consumption averages and is meant to give you an idea of your Ecological Footprint compared to others in the country in which you live. We all have Ecological Footprints. It is their size that differs.

How did you score? 

The global average footprint is approximately 21 global hectares or about 50 acres.  (A hectare is a metric measure equal to about 2.5 acres.)  The latest findings suggest that a sustainable footprint is about 15 gha (37 acres) for every person.  This means that we have exceeded the sustainable ecological limits by about 6 gha per capita.  How does your footprint compare to the global average and sustainable rate?

How can you reduce your ecological footprint to a more sustainable level?  Click the link at the bottom of the quiz page and find out what you can do as an individual, community member, business or as a nation.

Environmental Problems

Environmental Problems and Connections in Nature

Environmental science is an interdisciplinary study of how the earth works, how we interact with the earth, and how we deal with environmental problems. One of the most profound, prophetic, inspirational statements made on the environment was a speech given to President Franklin Pierce by "Chief Seattle" in 1854. President Franklin made an offer for two million acres of Indian Land and promised a Reservation for the Indian people. The text of Chief Seattle's speech is his reply to President Pierce's offer. Visit the following link to read the text of his speech. Consider the message that this speech teaches all of us about the environment.

Much controversy surrounds the authenticity of Chief Seattle's speech. Some feel the speech was actually written by Ted Perry, who wrote a biography of Chief Seattle. Various versions of the speech exist. Each translation loses or embellishes parts of his message. The Ted Perry text of the speech was used for a film on pollution and ecology called "Home." Film producers used the script without his knowledge, removed his name, and made posters with the speech. This began the confusion that exists today. Perry is pleased that his words have served as a powerful inspiration to many. The Chief Seattle Speech has a message to teach all of us about the environment. Would Chief Seattle agree or disagree with the spirit of the message? 

World populations are putting pressure on the earth's resources to meet our wants and needs. We classify these material resources as perpetual renewable or nonrenewable. In 1968, biologist Garrett Harden called the degradation of renewable resources the Tragedy of the Commons. It happens because each user reasons "If I do not use this resource, someone else will. The little bit I use or pollute is not enough to matter, and such resources are renewable."

Supplying each person with renewable resources, and absorbing wastes from such resource use, creates a large ecological footprint or environmental impact. It measures the average environmental impact of individuals in different countries and areas.

Most of the harmful environmental problems we face in the world are the unintended results of human activities designed to increase the quality of life. Underlying causes of environmental problems include:

· Rapid population growth

· Poverty

· Excessive and wasteful resources

· Not including environmental costs in market prices

· Inadequate understanding of how the earth works