The effects of pollution, climate change, and natural resource depletion are having more of an impact on everyday life. As a result, people want to know how to reduce their ecological footprint, which is another way of looking at resource consumption. Reducing environmental impact is imperative for governments, companies, and individuals. But to do so effectively, it’s necessary to determine where that impact is felt and what practices and behaviors can be modified to prevent further environmental damage.
Reducing ecological footprints on a regional, national, industrial, or global scale requires a range of policy, investment, and large-scale changes. This type of ecological footprint reduction is far more complex. Reducing ecological footprints on an individual or household level can be achieved through smaller methods and still matters, especially when done collectively.
Often these are simple steps and choices that account for waste production and resource use. Simply reducing power use by lowering thermostats, cutting time spent on electronic devices, and making home improvements for better energy efficiency is one option.
Relying on public transportation, carpooling, walking, or biking instead of using a car helps to reduce ecological footprints. Making more sustainable purchasing decisions by avoiding single-use disposable products will also help to reduce environmental impact.
U.S. Ecological Footprint And Global Ecological Impacts
The United States’ ecological footprint represents the natural resources consumed and the environmental impact of the country. This information is based on the U.S. population and specific activities that directly affect the environment, including forestry, agriculture, fishing, mining, manufacturing, transportation, and more. This activity is measured against biocapacity, which is a metric based on current natural resources and their ability to withstand consumption levels.
Comparing this supply and demand gives an overview of the environmental toll and sustainability, which is the ecological footprint. Global ecological footprints are measured in global hectares (gha), which is a unit that puts human activity in the context of an area of biologically productive land and sea over the course of a year. Currently, U.S ecological footprint is 8.04 gha per person. When compared to a maximum biocapacity of 3.45 gha, this means that the United States is consuming almost double the resources that can be sustained.
Tools For Measuring And Reducing Ecological Footprint
In an effort to get a sense of their own impact, some people are eager to learn how to calculate ecological footprint. There are tools that can provide a basic impact overview for an individual or household. These include carbon footprint quizzes, which pose questions on resource use in the form of purchasing habits, daily activities, waste production, etc. Based on the answers, the quiz results will provide a number or range on one’s ecological footprint.
Ecological footprint calculators and related apps are popular tools for acquiring a personal or household gha. Many of these resources are available online and they will be paired with guidance on how to reduce the resulting footprint. While many ecological measurements and calculators can only provide a short-term and perhaps oversimplified view of one’s actual impact, the insights can be valuable for making more sustainable choices. There are still many uncertainties that hinder exact impact calculations, but these gaps can be closed by better research and investment.
Article Sources:
https://phys.org
https://worldpopulationreview.com
https://www.footprintnetwork.org
