Understanding+Personal+Ecological+Footprint

=**Introduction **=

= = Starting from the Industrial Revolution the human need for resources has deepened. Ecological footprint accounts for energy consumption, land consumption toc (to grow crops, raise cattle, etc.), and waste (CO­2­ emission, garbage, plastic, etc.) ­. Ecological footprint is a great way to access resources allocated per person. The greater a person’s ecological footprint the bigger their negative impact on the Earth. Accessing one’s ecological is the first step needed to understand which resources are being used more than others. Reducing ecological footprint is necessary to sustain our environment and humanity. Ecological footprint, carbon dioxide emission, climate change, deforestation, overgrazing, famine, human right violations, and the global economy are all interconnected issues. Researchers are looking for various ways to reduce our ecological footprint whether it is to reduce carbon dioxide emissions, lower energy use, clean energy, reducing waste, etc. Ecological footprint is rooted in the fact that Earth is a shared space and everyone living in it should use their fair share.

=**Accessing Personal Ecological Footprint **=

= = There are several ways of accessing personal ecological footprint. There are various online tools available that help calculate a person’s ecological footprint. //Global Footprint// //Network// is an internationally recognized organization that hosts an online tool which helps promote sustainability. The tool accounts for ecological footprint and biocapacity. The free online ecological footprint tool can be found at [] . The website is filled with various other resources that informs general public on ways to reduce personal ecological footprint. They also offer various data and studies showing past trends in human consumption of resources[1].

=**Resources **=

= = Accessing personal ecological footprint requires an individual to acknowledge personal resource consumption. Resources such as energy, land (for living, food, livestock, etc.) and ocean (food). Closely monitoring these resources can help find ways of reducing personal ecological footprint[1].

**Energy **
Energy consumption can be categorized in two ways, direct or indirect energy. Direct energy accounts for space heating, electricity, and motor fuel. Indirect energy is defined as the energy needed for the production and waste disposal of consumer goods and services. Energy use is directly related to personal lifestyle. Lower income personals tend to use more direct energy, while higher income personals tend to use more indirect energy. Measuring direct energy consumption is simple because it does not require in depth analysis[2]. Indirect energy consumption is complex because it requires knowledge of means of production. For example, if a person lived in a land locked place and they ate seafood regularly. Imagine the energy used to store and transport that seafood to their area. The current dependency on fossil fuel as the main source of energy greatly contributes to the carbon footprint. Higher energy consumption greatly contributes to personal ecological footprint[3]. Understanding personal energy intake is key to reducing personal ecological footprint. Investing in technologies that overall decrease energy consumption is also helpful. Opting out of fossil fuel reliant products or technologies also significantly lower personal carbon footprint.

**Land **
The incline in human population has deepened our need for food. Land is used for cultivation, livestock, grazing, housing, construction, timber, landfills, etc. This growth in human population has put pressure on our land resources that has led to multitude of problems. Problems such as deforestation, soil erosion, decline in biodiversity, decline in biomes, large greenhouse gas emissions, infertile land, water and land contamination, climate change, etc. These problems have further repercussions that have various social and political effects. The need for land and resources associated with land are driven by human socioeconomic needs. Most of these problems are associated with current production processes. Human population needs most of the land for production of crops (including space for nutritional trees), livestock, and housing. Consumption of livestock is one of the greatest contributors to personal ecological footprint. Livestock is heavily dependent on land resources for food and shelter. Livestock is also one of the biggest contributors to global methane emissions. Crops are generally self-sustaining and do not contribute to the major changes in the carbon and other natural Earth cycles[4]. Managing personal diet has helped many maintain health and decrease personal ecological footprint. Decreasing meat and dairy consumption significantly decreases personal ecological footprint.

=**Waste **=

= = The overall increase in production and consumption has increased waste produced by the human population. There are many categories of waste but these two are generally assessed on personal level: CO2 emissions and trash. CO2 emissions and other greenhouse gases are correlated with climate change. Trash or garbage has been on the rise and it is one biggest pollutant in the world. Waste has great impact on the environment and it greatly contributes to personal ecological footprint. Waste management is Eco-friendly and is necessary to reduce consumption and overall ecological footprint. Choosing to reuse, recycle, and compost is shown to reduce personal ecological footprint.

**CO2 Emissions **
Post industrial revolution there has been an increase in CO2 emissions. CO2 emission can be categorized in two ways natural source and human activities. Natural source of CO2 emissions release is consistent throughout the years and are accounted for as part of Earths carbon cycle[5]. However, the CO2 emissions caused by human activities has steadily been increasing especially in the countries with developing economies. The major contributor to the increase in the CO2 emissions is due to increase in fossil fuel consumption. The total carbon released on Earth in 1860 was 96 million metric tons and the total carbon released in 1991 was 6200 million metric tons. This increase of carbon cannot be used up in the annual carbon cycle and it can cause greenhouse effects[6]. CO2 emissions have been linked to regional and seasonal changes in temperature. CO2 emissions are linearly related to global and regional changes in annual-mean surface temperature. This relation is known as transient climate response to cumulative CO2 emissions (TCRE). This linear dependency shows the greater the cumulative CO2 emissions, the greater variation of temperature and precipitation[7]. Acknowledging CO2 emissions sources is an important step in overall reduction. Accessing sources of CO2 emissions and investing in technologies that reduce overall carbon footprint is key to reduction.

**<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Trash **
<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Trash or garbage emissions has rapidly increased as human population has increased. Previously humans practiced sustainability by reusing and composting. Current methods of fast production have made reusing a thing of the past. This change is powered by current social, political, and economical standards. The use of plastics which are not rapidly biodegradable has deepened this problem. Plastics are harmful to the environment and wildlife. Plastics are both pollutants and contaminants. Electronic waste is another problem, it is poisonous and dangerous to wildlife. Waste management is terrible in most countries and since trash is locally collected there are no strict regulations. Reducing trash produced by a community can be accessed via individuals. Many times, trash ends in economically poor regions, which creates a social clash and inhabitable conditions for people. This trail of trash has destroyed environment, wildlife, and human lives. Increase in trash has many disastrous impacts on society, environment, and economics[8]. Managing trash gives insight on personal resource allocation and is an economically sound decision.Committing to invest in Eco-friendly, plastic free, and hazardous products greatly help reduce trash emissions.

=**<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Impact of Ecological Footprint **=

**<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Climate Change **
<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Ecological footprint considers the impact society has on its environment. Ecological footprint is a great tool for accessing personal impact on the environment and whether it can sustain an individual. Ecological footprint accounts for climate change by measuring personal contributions to CO2 emissions and other waste.

**<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">Unpredictable Weather **
<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">The increase in greenhouse gases has caused larger variation in Earth’s surface temperature. There has been an overall increase in Earth’s surface temperature which is caused due to the increase in greenhouse gases emission[9]. The increase in Earth’s surface temperature has caused the thick Arctic ice sheets to melt. This change in temperature can cause changes in the jet streams which intern could make colder Eurasian and North American winters. The melting of the ice caps can change ocean circulation and can even effect rain in the tropics[10]. Some countries have noticed such trends and have started to account for such climate changes. A publishing by the European Union Committee admitted: “The UK is experiencing more unpredictable weather. More frequent deluges of rain threaten serious flooding, and in some places, water will become ever scarcer. Agriculture and forestry will need to adapt to these conditions while ensuring production and the environment are properly protected.”[11]

=**<span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">References **=

= = <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[1] “Our Work,” //Global Footprint Network//. [Online]. Available: https://www.footprintnetwork.org/our-work/. [Accessed: 26-Apr-2018]. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[2] R. M. J. Benders, R. Kok, H. C. Moll, G. Wiersma, and K. J. Noorman, “New approaches for household energy conservation—In search of personal household energy budgets and energy reduction options,” //Energy Policy//, vol. 34, no. 18, pp. 3612–3622, Dec. 2006. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[3] “Sustainable Consumption and the Public’s Room to Maneuver in Energy Use,” in //Sustainable Energy Consumption and Society//, Springer, Dordrecht, 2005, pp. 1–24. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[4] S. C. Rai, //Land Use and Climate Change//. New York, UNITED STATES: Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2009. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[5] S. Theißen, S. Spinler, and A. Huchzermeier, “Reducing the Carbon Footprint Within Fast-Moving Consumer Goods Supply Chains Through Collaboration: The Manufacturers’ Perspective,” //J. Supply Chain Manag. Wheat Ridge//, vol. 50, no. 4, pp. 44–61, Oct. 2014. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[6] //Trends ’93: A Compendium of Data on Global Change//. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, World Data Center-A for Atmospheric Trace Gases, Environmental Sciences Division, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, 1994. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[7] A.-I. Partanen, M. Leduc, and H. D. Matthews, “Seasonal climate change patterns due to cumulative CO2 emissions,” //Environ. Res. Lett.//, vol. 12, no. 7, Jun. 2017. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[8] R. Jayasinghe, U. Mushtaq, T. A. Smythe, and C. Baillie, “The Garbage Crisis: A Global Challenge for Engineers,” //Synth. Lect. Eng. Technol. Soc.//, vol. 7, no. 1, pp. 1–155, Jan. 2013. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[9] G. Braasch, //Earth Under Fire: How Global Warming Is Changing the World//. University of California Press, 2009. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[10] Committee on Linkages Between Arctic Sea Ice Loss and Mid-Latitude Weather Patterns: A Workshop, Board on Atmospheric Sciences and Climate, Polar Research Board, Division on Earth and Life Studies, and National Research Council, //Linkages Between Arctic Warming and Mid-Latitude Weather Patterns: Summary of a Workshop//. Washington, D.C., UNITED STATES: National Academies Press, 2014. <span style="font-family: &#39;Arial&#39;,sans-serif; font-size: 13.3333px;">[11] G. B. P. H. of L. E. U. Committee, //Adapting to climate change: EU agriculture and forestry, 8th report of session 2009-10, Vol. 2: Evidence//. The Stationery Office, 2010.