Monday, November 3, 2008

Your Ecological Footprint

In times like these it is important to better understand the impact we have on the environment. One measure of your effect on the environment is the measurement of your ecological footprint. "What's is and ecological footprint?" you may ask; it is nothing more than the total square feet of land that produces food, divided by the population, giving you a square feet per person measurement (referred to as one ecological footprint).

I believe that the best defense is a good offence when it comes to the environment, and to me this means letting people know how they are directly affecting the planet, and even more importantly, those on it. Let me put it this way: if you calculate the amount of footprints each person on earth can have, and then calculate your footprint, you will notice something startling. If I don't miss my guess, you will find that your footprint is far above the average, meaning that somewhere on earth there is someone that is using less than one footprint (keep in mind that 1 footprint is needed for survival). Sadly, this burden falls most often on Africa, but there are ways that you can help. Sending seeds, engineers, and educators to third world countries allows the creation of more farmable land, meaning increasing the magnitude of one footprint. The other is to reduce your wear and tear on the planet.

This fight is not over, there is much that can be done.

Calculate your ecological footprint (Royal Saskatchewan Museum)

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