Ecological footprint

Ever wondered what proportion of the world’s resources you’re using? MyFootprint.org gives you a short questionnaire to fill in, and then estimates for you what your ecological footprint is in terms of the number of hectares of productive land and water you need to support what you use and what you discard. I was pleasantly surprised by my result, but there’s obviously still some work to be done. Primarily, eating less meat and less imported food.

Global Hectares – Category
1.5 – Food
0.1 – Mobility
0.6 – Shelter
0.4 – Goods/services
2.6 – Total footprint
In comparison, the average ecological footprint in your country is 5.3 global hectares per person.
Worldwide, there exist 1.8 biologically productive global hectares per person.
If everyone lived like you, we would need 1.4 planets.

Oh, and there’s also a great version for children, although it does assume you’re from the USA! (It gives a result in acres – multiply by 0.4 to convert to hectares, as used in the adult version.)

(_Thanks to Maggi for the tip_)

pax et bonum

Article posted at 12:02pm on 18 July 2005
Category: Life, Politics, Struggling, General