How To Reduce Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprint defines how much human activities has impact on the environment. It measures how much land an individual requires to consume food, energy, etc. on a daily basis. An average Canadian’s footprint is about 5 planet earths worth of land. In 2012, the average global ecological footprint in was 2.84 global hectares per person.

How can you reduce your personal footprint?

As seen in the picture above, I would need about 5.8 earths worth of land to consume food, energy, wood products I consume on a daily basis. This is comparatively higher than the footprint of an average Canadian. One way I can reduce my ecological footprint would be using the public transit or walking to shorter distances instead of driving whenever it is possible. Car pooling would be another way to reduce my ecological footprint as carpooling would reduce the number of vehicles on the road; hence, there would be less carbon getting into the air. Travelling to cities like Edmonton, Vancouver, or any shorter distances on the bus instead of flights will also reduce ecological footprint as air travel has a larger

Similarly, using stainless steel water bottles instead of plastic water bottles would also help the environment. Plastic items usually take about 10-1000 years to decompose in landfills. Additionally, plugging my cell-phone and laptop chargers out, and turning off the electrical appliances when not in use would also reduce the ecological footprint.

Furthermore, eating organic and locally produced food instead of packaged foods would also reduce the ecological footprint. Cutting down on meat and dairy would also help as meat consumption is one of the significant contributors to global warming. Having a vegetarian diet, eating more vegetables produces lower greenhouse