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Recycle Ann Arbor

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From the Ground Up

March 2002

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Features

Is Harding Covering Up for Dow?
Gregory V. Button

For a Clean and Safe Detroit: Close the Country's Largest Incinerator
Mary Beth Doyle and Brad Van Guilder

Westland Activist Cheryl Graunstadt
Monica Heger

Columns

Letters to the Editor

Book Review
Planes, Trains, and Automobiles ... Bikes and Ferries, Too
Gregory V. Button reviews Jim Motavalli's "Breaking Gridlock"

Science for the People
ADHD Levels May Be Higher; PCBs and Infant Development; Men With PCBs Likely to Father Boys; Flame Retardant in the Environment

At the Ecology Center
Annual Meeting; Profile of Jeff Gearhart; New Website; Open Space Zoning Conference; Hybrid Car and Fuel Cell Announcements

Events

Wish List

Recycle Ann Arbor
Calculating Your Eco Footprint

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Quantifying One's Environmental Impact: The EcoFootprint

By Adam Szuch

Environmentalists believe that we can lessen our our environmental impact by reducing dependence on fossil fuels, cutting household waste, and consuming fewer resources. But just how much of an effect do these actions have? Can we put a number on our environmental impacts? Is it possible to see whether our living choices are in proportion with global resource consumption and regeneration as well as waste generation and disposal?

The Ecological Footprint model attempts to answer these and other challenging questions as we search for a more sustainable future. The concept was introduced in 1994 by Mathis Wackernagel and William Reese. As they see it, their model is unique because it measures several kinds of environmental impacts: vehicle usage, food consumption, waste generated, etc.

According to Redefining Progress, a non-profit public policy and research organization based in San Francisco, the Ecological Footprint is based on two assumptions: (1) We can keep track of most of the resources we consume as well as many of the wastes we generate; and (2) we can measure resource consumption and disposal flows as they compare to biologically productive areas.

Redefining Progress defines the Ecological Footprint of anything from an individual to an entire nation:

The area of biologically productive land and water required to produce the resources consumed and to assimilate the wastes generated by that population using prevailing technology.

For most calculations, the amount of land required is measured in acres. While an Ecological Footprint can be calculated with various inputs, the ones most commonly considered are:

The Footprint does not factor in damages from in areas such as ozone depletion, toxic waste, and greenhouse gasses other than carbon dioxide.

Just how big are some recent Ecological Footprints? Even though different calculation methods give different results, most methods arrive at similar figures. A study titled Ecological Footprint of Nations (available at www.ecouncil.ac.cr/rio/focus/report/english/footprint/) gives some alarming figures. Based on 1997 United Nations statistics, it compares the footprints of 52 nations worldwide and concludes that the average American requires approximately 30.8 acres of productive land to provide for his or her consumption. Compare this to the average German using only 14.9 acres and the world average of only 7.1 acres, and America seems to be a bit out of place.

To discuss these numbers in terms of sustainability, they must be compared to estimated productive land totals. According to the study, the U.S. has more abundant natural resources from which to draw (13.6 acres per person) than the world average (5.3 acres). Of course, U.S. citizens’ average use of 30.8 acres clearly shows that our country operates at an “ecological deficit.”

The study blames this deficit on two factors: imported ecological capacity and depletion of domestic resources. Wackernagel’s team estimates that, for the entire world to live at the current consumption rate of the U.S., more than four planets would be needed. Redefining Progress also suggests that the world as a whole is using up resources faster than they can be renewed and generating more waste than can be absorbed.

Such analyses can greatly assist planners and policy makers in evaluating sustainable practices and systems. On the individual level, footprinting offers an effective way to measure our environmental impact. And, it shows that we American citizens have our work cut out for us.

Even with comparatively “green” life choices, the results of Ecological Footprint calculators can be humbling. To calculate your footprint online, visit Real Progress (www.rprogress.org).

For practical suggestions on how to reduce your footprint, visit the Recycle Ann Arbor En-House at 2420 S. Industrial Hwy. The demonstration model home there features a room-sized display dedicated to the concept of Ecological Footprint.

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