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Ecological FootprintThe ecological footprint is a measure of the impact a given population has on its environment, both in terms of resource use and waste production.  We must share this world, let us not leave a print so big the wind can't blow it away once we move on. Ecological footprints are calculated in terms of the amount of land area required to produce resources (e.g. food, energy) and to absorb wastes (e.g. CO2). Footprints may be calculated and compared for individual nations or for the world as a whole, and expressed as a value in “global hectares”, or in terms of number of planets required to support a given lifestyle. Ecological OvershootThe most recent assessments put current resource use as equivalent to 1.4 planet earths - in other words, we have entered into ecological overshoot which is eroding the ability of the planet’s natural systems to regenerate natural resources or mitigate wastes.  Used tires are a major contributor of waste and pollution and can be used to build with instead of being discarded in a landfill. It is therefore imperative that we find ways to reduce our ecological footprint through, for example, the reduction in use of fossil fuels and shifting to alternative sources of energy (solar, wind), utilizing public transportation as much as possible, shifting to locally-grown organic food, reducing meat consumption, recycling, composting and more. Resources:
Contact Lotan Center for Creative Ecology |
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