Ecological Footprint Project Underway

Ecological Footprint Education program

Sustainable Calgary is putting the final touches on a new Ecological Footprint Education program

An "Ecological Footprint" is a calculation of the land area required to produce the products and resources we consume and to process the waste we create. Sustainable Calgary calculates and reports on the Ecological Footprint of Calgary in the State of Our City Reports.

Background

An Ecological Footprint is a way of measuring a population's demand on nature. It estimates the amount of productive land and sea area needed to sustain a given human population. William Rees and Mathis Wackernagel at the University of British Columbia, Canada developed the concept.

In their book "Our Ecological Footprint: Reducing Human Impact on the Earth" (1996), they have the reader imagine how long a community could survive if it were covered by a glass or plastic hemisphere that let light in but did not let materials in or out. Being cut off from trade and waste sinks it is unlikely the community would survive for very long. The ecological load of the community would quickly surpass the carrying capacity of the area within the hemisphere. Additional areas for growing food, producing energy and absorbing wastes would be required to allow the community to live within the hemisphere on an ongoing basis. Ecological Footprints try to work out how much this total area is.

Calgary's Footprint

We found that Calgary's footprint in 2001 was about 94,000km2 or 9.9 hectares/person, the largest ecological footprint of any Canadian municipality. The amount of productive land and sea available on a global basis is only 2.2 hectares/person. With an ecological footprint of more than four times this limit, Calgarians are using more than their share of the Earth's resources.

Check out our tips (below) on how to reduce your ecological footprint!

Reduce your Ecological Footprint

Transportation

Vehicles that use fossil fuels harm the environment and people's health by creating air pollution.

Ride or walk to nearby places instead of driving.
Organize a carpool to get to work or use public transit.
Air Travel

Airplanes use lots of fossil fuel and contribute significantly to pollution.

Refrain from vacations in faraway destinations. Take vacations in places nearer to home.
Waste

Throwing things away harms the environment because we use up space to store garbage and also have to produce new materials to replace the ones we threw out.

Take your lunch to work in reusable containers.
Separate your garbage for recycling and recycle as much as you can.
Start composting or worm farming food scraps.
Think about whether things can be used again for the same or another purpose before you throw them away.
Give things you do not need to other people or to second-hand stores.
Buy rechargeable batteries so you do not have to buy new ones.
Use plastic grocery bags in your garbage cans.

Food

As well as tasting great and being healthy, fruits and vegetables take less space and energy to produce than junk foods, instant foods and meat.

Try eating more fruit and vegetables instead of junk food.
Start a vegetable garden so you can grow some of your own food.
Go to the farmer's markets to buy fruit and vegetables.
Try to eat meat less often.

Energy

In Alberta, most electricity is made by burning coal (a fossil fuel) which creates lots of air pollution. If we use less electricity we can reduce the amount of pollution.

Turn lights off when you leave an empty room.
Turn the computer, TV, stereo and other appliances off when you have finished using them.
Get what you want from the fridge quickly and close the door properly.
Dry your clothes on a clothesline instead of using the dryer.
Consider buying electricity from a renewable energy supplier.
Water

Only about 1% of the water on earth is drinkable so it is important to conserve it and keep it clean.

Turn off the tap when you clean your teeth.
Take short showers instead of baths.
Sweep the path or driveway instead of hosing it down.
Turn taps off properly and if they keep dripping, fix them.
Paper

Paper is made from trees or by recycling old paper, so if we use less we save trees and energy.

Borrow books from libraries or friends instead of buying them.
Use both sides of paper for writing or drawing.Put a notice on your mailbox saying you do not want any junk mail.
Reduce the amount of printing at work and save files electronically instead.
Our Project

Sustainable Calgary is currently working on a project to educate Calgarians about their Ecological Footprint and how they can reduce it. If you would like to get involved in the project or just get some more information please contact us. (Sustainable Calgary would like to thank Environment Canada's EcoAction Community Animation Program for their support.)

For more useful information on this topic please visit our Links page.