Definition of Ecological Footprint

Archive for November, 2008

The technical or scientific Definition of Ecological Footprint can be difficult to understand so below is a more simple explanation of what Ecological Footprint is.

Explain the concept of Ecological Footprint

Let’s imagine a cow in a field as an analogy. The cow needs to eat grass to stay alive and do his job. After the cow eats, he will produce waste which will be absorbed into the field. But the cow does not need an endless amount of grass or a very large field. So the question becomes, how much field does the cow need?

In Ecological Footprinting, the cow is the economy and the field is the natural resources. Like the cow in the example above, the economy needs to consume natural resources and after it is done with them, it will spit them out as waste which are absorbed into the Earth. So, the question becomes, how much natural resources and land are needed to support the economy and sustain the same standard of living.