Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprint

Ecological footprint refers to a model used to measure how a given society utilizes natural resources at disposal to sustain their needs. All supplies used by man to achieve any goal comes from the physical environment. Tools, structures, machinery, energy, utensils, clothes, plants, animals, and any other necessity are derived from the environment. Wackernagel, M., and Rees, W., are credited with championing ecological footprint and Biocapacity in the 1990s. Today carbon model has also been developed and applied in various disciplines and industries to evaluate the population consumption index.

Pincetl, in her article ‘The Invisible Urban Nature All around us,’ states all resources utilized by man are nature. Nature, according to Pincetl, compromises the non-living matter. Non-living component of our environment forms the natural resources and are harvested for socioeconomic use. The utilization of support should be done sustainably. Unsustainable exploitation of resources led to environmental degradation and pollution, which is harmful. The polluted and degraded environment cannot sustain population demands and contribute to socioeconomic constraints that led to conflicts in most of the societies.

Government and institutions involved in population monitoring use of the ecological footprint model to conduct a systematic analysis of population needs and environmental sustainability capacity. Metrics used in developing the ecological footprint of a place are primarily located on the productive surface of the earth. Six measures are used to evaluate the demand side of the population, the arable land, aquatic and marine systems, land with structures, forest cover, carbon demand, and land used for animal rearing. Resources productivity in the ecological footprint model is termed as Biocapacity. Biocapity, we can interpret it to resources obtained from the six assets used in tracking ecological footprint when utilized sustainably.

Carbon consumption accounts for land used as a carbon sink in the region. Land under construction comprises all infrastructures used by man, which include buildings, roads, stadiums, and others. Forested areas cover an area with vegetation not managed by man, and resources available are used for economic gain. Forest land includes national parks and age reserves. Aquatic and marine surfaces contribute significantly to the population EF through the blue economy. Arable land is used to cultivate food crops and cash crops.

The productivity of a resource depends on the benefit that a man obtains from the asset. Natural remedies that also absorb waste excreted to the environment are also accounted for in the footprint. The footprint and Biocapacity of a selected region are expressed in hectares. To get the footprint index of an area, the value obtained is compared to the global average value of the factor investigated (footprint or Biocapacity). Regional performance applies the same concept where the index of a specified area is compared to the total area under consideration. A region with population EF higher than Biocapacity is said to be running under deficit while a greater biocapacity is said to running reserves.

The carrying capacity of a place depends on the ‘population’s ecological footprint.’ A situation where the region’s Biocapacity is found to be less than the population’s footprint, the area is overpopulated. The concept of ecological footprint (EF) and Biocapacity is applied by governing institutions to develop an economic strategy. Where EF is higher than Biocapacity to avoid environmental degradation caused by over-exploitation, the importation of resources must be facilitated. When Biocapacity is is higher than the population demand area, the region has reserves that can be exploited to produce extra resources that can be exported.

Environmental degradation and pollution occur when a region experiences’ Overshoot.’ Overshoot refers to a situation when human demands exceed region EF, and waste produced is in excess compared to carbon land capacity. Globally, Overshoot occurred in 1972, leading to the exploitation of the biosphere to support man’s consumption. One of the most significant problems facing man today is climate change and global warming. Global warming occurs due to the introduction of greenhouse gases to our environment. Greenhouse gases have a higher capacity to retain energy absorbed from the sunlight and stored in the form of heat. Large volumes of greenhouse gases cause a rise in the average temperature of the region. Alteration of temperatures affects the water cycle leading to droughts and excess rainfall.

Case study

A report released by Global ecological footprint in 2017 stated the state of California had the same ecological footprint as France. California’s population was estimated to be 37 million, while France’s people had been transacted to 64 million. First, the GDP od both states were almost equal. Besides, the difference in land surface area is insignificant when transacted to since both would be 500 square Km. The ecological footprint for California was 21.2 acres, which compares to 8.6 global hectares. France had an ecological footprint of 4.8 gha. From the two values used GDP and EF California outdo France in economic perspective. The high population in France should contribute to GDP.

Q1. What about your footprint surprised you?

The main surprise of the ecological footprint index if France versus that of California is that I would have expected France to have a higher Global index than California. Based on the data given about population and surface are I also expected France to be running deficit while California would be running reserves.

Were the two footprints different? And why?

The footprints were different; California had 8.6 global hectares, and France had 4.8 gha. The footprint is accounted for in terms of the productive surface area of the region. Equality in the surface area does not translate to productivity. Two cases are located in a different region, and the climatic condition is different, which can affect the productivity and nature of natural resources.

Do you consider your lifestyle normal?

My lifestyle and that of my community in America is not normal. First, there is the secretion of waste, which has led to environmental pollution. A recent research finding showed carbon consumption land was turning carbon emission source. The reversed phenomena indicate imbalances caused by a high rate of Overshoot.

Changes to initiate

As a citizen of the united state, I would propose a change in our source of beef, where we would import instead of straining resources to produce meat locally. Producing beef locally harms our forest cover for the growth of fodder and reduces our capacity to grow other food crops. Also, processing meat products and waste products from ruminant animals introduce greenhouse gases to the environment.

How will your footprint change throughout your life?

Research and data collected over time have indicated regions in the world are running under a deficit, and the situation continues to tolerate due to an increase in population. Technological development has led to improved health services and hence increase in birthrate and lifespan.