Through the ecological footprint experiment I conducted, I realized that if everybody were to live in this manner, we would be in need of 6.13 earths. This is the amount of the land’s ecosystem habitat that the human race today would require in order to survive sustainably (Dunn, 2008). The online ecological footprint calculator is a very innovative and informative application that poses great benefit to the society. The ecological footprint calculator calculates the amount of inputs and outputs of an individual’s lifestyle in effect of the natural resources within their region of habitat. This consequently enables for a self-assessment at the individual level, where one can follow specific measures to reduce their ecological footprint to a sustainable level.
The experiment projected my goods and services footprint at a level of 57.66 country average. This is calculated form a 238.01 footprint in global acres by consumption; a combination of my carbon footprint, housing footprint, food footprint, and goods and services footprint. This assessment established my carbon footprint to be the highest, then the food footprint, followed by the goods and services footprint, and lastly the housing footprint. This means that in consumption mode a lot of unnecessary wastage goes into the carbon footprints; a rate of 91.43. This can be related in terms of unnecessary travels by the bus or home car, the use of timber from trees, and the lacking of replanting trees within the environment among others. The high level exerted by my footprint is one the shocked me the most. This showed that the nature of consumption of food is very wasteful, despite it going unnoticed. Most individuals who can afford the desired quality and quantity of food never r...
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...learing for more food production; projected in the food footprint, and the nature of my use of poor quality paper materials thus requiring for a constant supply of paper for my needs which consequently projects to a lot of trees being cut down to produce this paper for me; projected in the goods and services footprint. This form of projection can then also be explained for the different level of effect on the other biomes in the ecosystem.
The calculation of an individual’s footprint is a very vital component in advocating for the much-needed adoption of sustainable living across the world. It is enables for the analysis an individual’s contribution to climate change and global warming (Blomqvist, 2013). This further projects the roles and responsibility each individual holds in their daily lives in effecting positive change in the current state of sustainability.
Humans are damaging the planet to live comfortably, we must change the way food is distributed worldwide, support local farmers and switch to a healthier diet in order to stop global warming. The current global has been getting better for us humans over the years, from eating bread and eggs 3 times a day in the XV century, now we can eat better than the kings of those times, however the much of the food in not healthy and the global food system still fails in getting food to every individual in the planet and in addition it contributes to the destruction of our world. Ms. Anna Lappe explains how the food system contributes to around 1/3 of the global warming issue in her essay “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork”, while a group of Plos one explains the issues about the export and import of food growth over the last 50 years in the
In Michael Pollan’s “Why Bother?” Pollan argues that each person can contribute to helping to the environment by erasing their carbon footprints. In my everyday life I experience the choice of driving my car to work or riding my bike. More often than not I choose to drive my car because it is the easier option. I, along with many other people, believe that my individual impact will not cause a larger impact on the global scale. In Pollan’s essay, he makes each person think about the effect they are leaving on the environment and how each person, as an individual, can change his ways before it is too late. Wendell Berry, a naturalist and well-respected and influential writer, was a key factor in recognition of the environmental crisis and how to solve the problem.
Long-distance transportation of food uses an abundance of fuel, which increases the carbon footprint created by the growing, shipping, and eating of food. ”Long-distance food shipments promote profligate fuel use and the exploitation of cheap labor (which compensates for the profligate fuel use), shifting back to a more locally sourced food economy is often touted as a fairly straightforward way to cut externalities, restore some measure of equity between producers and consumers, and put the food economy on a more sustainable footing.” (source E). The long-distance transportation of food uses a profligate amount of fuel and exploit cheap labor in the process. It can greatly assist the environment to buy from local sources by making the carbon footprint of food production lesser and saving natural resources such as oil. Buying from local farms also creates lower prices and a greater amount of the money spent goes back to the community and the
The old Native American proverb that states, “We do not inherit the land from our ancestors; we borrow it from our children” really makes me think about my lifestyle and how it is benefiting the Earth. Being sustainable not only means to take care of the planet for my generation but also for future generations. It is my job to care for the planet as best as I can and to help pass on these good habits to my children. The best ways that I can help my environment are composting uneaten food and old vegetables, donating or reusing old clothes, and recycling plastic and paper products.
There is no hesitation when it comes to whether humans impact the global environment. However, it is questioned in whether human’s ecological footprint is either negatively or positively impacting. In clear perspective, humans share from both sides and their ecological footprint is noted towards whether it will benefit or harm the environment around them. Topics such as overpopulation, pollution, biomagnification, and deforestation are all human impacted and can harm the environment, but some include benefits into helping the world around us with solutions to their problems.
There is no doubt that human activity is having a significant impact on our environment. These environmental impacts include depleting our natural resources, air and water pollution, climate change, destruction of habitats, and loss of biodiversity. Because of these growing concerns, we need to learn how to live sustainably. Living sustainably will allow us to conserve our limited resources more wisely so they will be available for future generations (Withgott & Brennan, 2011, Chapter 1).
Carbon footprint can be defined as the amount of greenhouse gases an individual produces at a time through diverse activities. A person’s carbon footprint is the sum of all emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), which were induced by an individual’s daily activities for a given time frame. CO2 is one of the many greenhouse gases that are responsible for causing global warming which we are currently experiencing today. Carbon footprint is an extremely powerful tool which we can utilize to understand the impact that our personal activities have on global warming.
Since 1997 after the first agreement in Kyoto, nations have taken very limited steps to reducing greenhouse gas emission. There are many reasons why greenhouse gasses have increased such as rainforest deforestation which is vital since trees absorb carbon dioxide. With fewer trees more carbon dioxide builds up in the atmosphere. Usage and burning of fossil fuel, releases greenhouse gases since it burns and emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere or even population growth which contributes to the high supply and demand for food, livestock, land, energy and water. However it is up to leading nations to change their eco-footprints to eliminate the increasing greenhouse gas affect. Author William Nordhaus of Yale University conducted a study which examines alternative outcomes for emissions, clima...
I have chosen the topic of food waste and the impact on the environment. I will discuss the ridiculous amount of food that is wasted each year and the staggering amount of waste that could be avoided just by planning ahead, and purchasing from farmer’s markets and avoiding the main stream supermarkets who set such high standards on the aesthetic of produce that tonnes are wasted for no reason other then shape.
Thesis Statement: Consumerism is destroying our planet through its excess, but with the help of reducing we may be able to slow the negative change happening in our environment.
Every day the world around us is changing ever so slightly in many different ways. Humans can affect the environment through our day to day lifestyle without even noticing the change. An ecological footprint is a measurement of how much a person uses the environment around them to live their life. This given measurement can help one to see their impact on the earth. It is an important tool to understand what actually a human does to change the habitat near them. My ecological footprint results gave me a perspective of how my daily life can impact the world I live in, as well as, how I as an individual can change my actions to make less waste on earth. It is also useful for each person to know their own ecological footprint since no one live
Our lifestyles and eating habits have had an adverse effect on the environment. The troubles societies face today are brought on by our own personal choices in the way we live. The ability to create an action plan that would provide enough “sustainability food for the Future” give off a very powerful message; that we must change the way we perceive the world around us. To start viewing the earth as an “island” that the natural resources the earth provides are slowly deteriorating right before our eyes. The population growth has exceeded the earth capacity to sustain the growing demand for food. There have been warnings that seemed like “whispers” but now the earth, our island is speaking “loudly” and now is showing the damage of what our carelessness behavior has caused.
There are a few reasons why I say my personal policies created a more sustainable lifestyle for myself yet; all the reasons mainly have to deal with the three circles of sustainability. The three circles of sustainability are three main concepts that have to blend together to create a sustainable environment. O...
Though several people see large rapidly growing populations in developing regions as the primary culprit in environmental decline, we need to focus on the costly environmental outcomes of overconsumption among the gradually increasing populations of the developed nations. These differing emphases naturally point to fundamentally different solutions: slow population increase in less-developed nations or change destructive consumption and production patterns in the more-developed nations. This debate, however, assumes a one-step answer to the complex problems created by population pressures on the environment. Both population size and consumption ...
Many people assume that the environment is not in danger. They believe that as technology advances, we do not need to worry about renewing natural resources, recycling, and finding new ways to produce energy. They state that one person in the world does not make a large difference. In reality, each individual's contribution greatly affects our environment. Our natural resources are slowly disappearing, and we must work together to save them and the Earth from ruin.