Alyssa Garcia
Professor Hlebakos
Environmental Science 101
11 December 2014
Ecological Footprint “The ecological footprint s a measure of human demand on the Earth’s ecosystems.” The ecological footprint began in 1990 by Mathis Wackernagel and William Rees, and is now used by different individuals all over the world. My impact on the environment, the impact society makes together, and the changes I need to make are all dependent on choices we choose to make in our own life. When finishing the quiz, I was not surprised one bit. To support my lifestyle it takes 4-5 planets, 20.2 global acres, 44% services, 33% food, 12% shelter, 8 % goods, and 4 % mobility. I always knew I could do more for the environment but I never realized how bad it was. It was very accurate in reflecting my impact on this environment. The main reason for an ecological footprint is to express impact of a person or community on the environment, the amount of land required helping their use of natural resources.
When thinking, I ask myself “What will happen in hundreds of years? “Will we all fit on this planet?” As a society we should be making changes and doing everything in our power to help, but there is almost 8 billion people on this planet which is nearly impossible to grab every single persons attention. I’ve learned many things from this assignment, including it taking four planets to support an average human lifestyle, including myself. Also throwing in some more details, the Earth takes one year and six months to regenerate what we use in a year. Society has grown rapidly in the past 20-30 years, and more people means more waste. In order for myself to make positive changes, I would need to rearrange my whole lifestyle. I am willing to do that because I