Ecological footprint refers to the impact of a person’s lifestyle or that of a community on the environment, which is expressed in terms of the amount of land necessary to sustain their natural resources use (Rosenberg, 1997).
My results were 6.71, which means I need to reduce my ecological footprint even further with the right lifestyle choices. I realized that our lifestyles harm our environment more than we realize. The basic actions in our daily lives such as driving to school or eating meat have an adverse effect on the environment.
If everyone had a similar lifestyle as mine, we would require approximately four planets to sustain our livelihood. This is a devastating result since it indicates that we consume more than we can afford to. Spending more resources than those available to us means that in future we will deplete all the resources and future generations will find it hard to survive. Reduction of the amount of resources we consume is crucial in ensuring our survival and that of future generations (Rosenberg, 1997). This involves careful use of resources by avoiding wastage and recycling where possible. This leaves some resources available for tomorrow’s use since our lifestyles need resources. Avoiding harmful activities to the environment such as reducing carbon emission in our daily lives could also help in reducing our ecological footprints. This involves simple actions such as driving a car even when one can walk. If nothing is done, the human race may be wiped out of the earth’s face due to the lack of resources to sustain necessities such as food.
For everyone to reduce their ecological footprints, it becomes a necessity to reevaluate their lifestyles to identify aspects of their lives that amount to a large footprint (Rosenberg, 1997). The key to reducing the ecological footprint is focusing on environmental conservation by reducing the consumption of available resources. I would recommend recycling to ensure reusable resources do not go to waste when they can be used for better purposes. Carbon emissions contribute largely to the destruction of the ozone layer which is responsible for climatic changes and global warming. These emissions are avoidable by use of environmentally friendly cars to reduce the amount of harmful emissions. The cars also use less fuel hence contributing towards resource conservation. When the distance covered is not long, they could opt for biking, which is a faster mode of transport - especially in congested cities and also pollutes the environment less. Consumption of locally produced food is another way to conserve our resources since it encourages local growers to continue producing food and lowers the amount of energy needed for their transportation.
The consumption level determines the ecological footprint which measures the amount of land required to sustain this consumption (Rosenberg, 1997). This means that if the level of consumption increases, the ecological footprint increases as well. The modern capitalist society is focused on materialism and excessive consumption of products. This form of lifestyle is responsible for the large ecological footprints of various individuals. The way forward in an attempt to reduce the ecological footprint is to promote a culture of simplicity where one only uses what they need and leave excess produce for consumption in the future. One’s level of consumption has a significant impact on the resource availability on our planet. Therefore, for the ecological footprint to reduce, there is a need for individuals to adjust their level of consumption.
The most significant categories in my ecological footprint are my eating habits and transportation mode. They have the largest influence on my ecological footprint, especially because they are recurrent needs and occur more than once in one day.
In adjusting the two main categories, I would choose a mode of transportation that results in less carbon emission and requires less fuel. This would reduce the amount of environmental pollution I cause in a day and conserve resources by using less. In terms of my eating habits, I would turn to fresh foods and eat less processed foods. This would also contribute into reducing the amount of environmental pollution caused by factories in the manufacturing process. It would also save on the energy required to undertake the processing. Consuming locally available foods is another way I could conserve energy that would have gone into transporting foods from other locations.
I have learned that our today’s lifestyles affect our future and those of our future generations. In addition, we are currently consuming resources at a very high rate which is not sustainable. This is because we are consuming resources that we do not even have. If no changes occur, we risk the future of the human race on the planet due to lack of resources for survival.
References
Rosenberg, J. (1997). "Ecological Footprint" Science, 275(5303), 1052-1053.
