Q1. The three products and practices that contribute most to my environmental footprint are;
- Food
- Shelter
- Mobility.
Q2. a) Impact on earth’s climate
According to the environmental protection authority of Victoria, the earth’s bio capacity has been exceeded by the ecological footprint by 30%. This means that resources are being consumed more than they can be produced hence creating a bio capacity deficit. The continued application of that “pressure” on the resources to meet the needs of the consumers speeds up the process and the rate at which these environmental assets are being destroyed. The carbon dioxide emission has been seen to be the greatest contributor to that “pressure”. The rate at which carbon dioxide is being released to the atmosphere exceeds the earth’s ability to re-absorb it. Therefore, it accumulates in the atmosphere leading to climate change.
b) Impact on Biodiversity
The current ecological footprint has been a major cause for the loss of biodiversity. Loss of species and lots of land has been due to the demand created for them by humans for them to support their lifestyles. Destruction of habitat has seen animals die with the trade in wildlife further reducing the number of species living on earth.
c) Impact on Economic Security
In this trend, nations will find it difficult to access ecological services that are becoming costly and limited. The bio capacity deficit created increases the chances for price volatility and even supply disruptions hence threatening the economic security of the nations.
Q3. Through Conservation efforts that combine traditional conservation methods to tackle the causes of biodiversity loss, such methods including consumer choices and business practices.
b) Solution to mitigating climate change- different ways to stop global warming.
- Reducing usage of fossil fuels
- Planting trees
- Reducing wastes
- Conserving water resources
c) Nations can put up policies that are geared towards reducing their ecological footprint sizes by opting for green energy sources and environmentally friendly practices by its citizens.
Q4. Reducing our footprint size requires us to change our lifestyles and not reducing it. By adopting the various measures of ecological footprint reduction which mostly are alternative environmental friendly practices, will help to oversee the reduction of our ecological footprint size.
References
- Victoria, e. p. (2013, June 9). climate change. Retrieved from environmental protection authority Victoria website.
- worldwide funds for nature. (2013, June 9). climate nad energy. Retrieved from worldwide funds for nature website.
