Definition of Ecological Footprint

Archive for the ‘Ecological Footprint’ Category

The sizes of Ecological Footprint vary from country to country and from person to person. To calculate the Ecological Footprint of a country, you need to first calculate the Ecological Footprint of an average person of that country. An average person ‘s Ecological Footprint in one country is most likely different from an average person’s Ecological Footprint in another country. Below are discussions of the Ecological Footprint by country. How big a person’s Ecological Footprint is depends on many factors such as income, personal values, behavior, personality, consumption patterns, preferences, technologies, local environment and economy, and many other factors.

What is the Ecological Footprint of a Country?

The Ecological Footprint of a country is defined as the amount of land required to sustain its metabolism or economy. In another word, the land and natural resources required to provide the raw materials on which the country along with its population feeds, and process the waste products it produces.

In the Ecological Footprint Analysis, the issue of the carrying capacity of the Earth is an important one. Let’s first discuss the definition of the carrying capacity of the earth and then we will estimate what the carrying capacity of the earth is.

What is the meaning or definition of carrying capacity of the earth?

The carrying capacity of the earth is the supportable population, given the food, habitat, water and other necessities available within the earth. Imagine the earth as a giant ecosystem, the carrying capacity of the earth is carrying capacity of the earth’s ecosystem or the natural resources needed to sustain the same standard of living. There are many factors that need to be taken into account when estimating the carrying capacity of earth such as medical care.

Carrying capacity of earth with population growth

One of the biggest problem in the increase of Ecological Footprinting is the population growth. When there are more mouths to feed, you need more food, more air, more sunlight, more water, and more everything. So, the question of the carrying capacity of the earth become, how many people can the earth actually support and sustain the same standard of living?

The problem is that the Earth’s total area of biologically productive land and fresh water sources (i.e. the carrying capacity of the earth) is finite. These resources need to be shared among a growing population. In some countries, an average person uses a lot more of the earth’s natural resources than others. Usually the more developed a country is, the more resources its people use.