GEF

Unit 2  |  Humanity’s Ecological Footprint 36 GROWYOUR KNOWLEDGE With your teacher’s permission, visit the Website of the Global Footprint Network (www.footprintnetwork.org ). Under Tools and Resources, click the link to start the Footprint Calculator and follow the steps to calculate your ecological footprint. Answer the following questions based on the results. 1. If everyone lived like you, how many planet Earths would we need to provide enough resources? 2. How many global acres of the Earth’s productive area is needed to support your lifestyle? 3. What are the two largest contributors to your ecological footprint? What is the smallest? 4. What can you do to reduce your ecological footprint? Essential Concept Human impact on ecosystems has changed over time, begin- ning with the early stages of civilization through to today’s industrialized and growing societies. 2.1  THE ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT How do we measure our impact on the planet? A widely- accepted measurement is the ecological footprint, which measures the natural resources used and pollution generated by human activity. The ecological footprint is an important way to rate sustainability. An ecological footprint can be applied to an individual, a group of people, a nation, or all of humanity.