Calculating Your Ecological Footprint

DefinitionsSustainable development is development that

meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Ecological footprint is the amount of productive land needed on average by each person (in the world, a country, etc..) for food, water, transport, housing, waste management, and other purposes.

Part I - HOME

1- How many people live in your household?

Pointsa) 1 30b) 2 25c) 3 20d) 4 15e) 5 10

2- How is your home heated?

a) natural gas (furnace)30b) electricity (baseboards)40c) oil (oil tank & furnace) 50d) renewable (solar, wind) 0

3- How many individual faucets and toilets do you have in your home?

a) less than 3 5b) 3-5 10c) 6-8 15d) 9-10 20e) 11+ 25

Part II - FOOD

4- How many meals per week do you eat with meat or fish (out of 21 meals)?

Pointsa) 0 0b) 1-3 10c) 4-6 20d) 7-10 35e) 10+ 50

5- How many home-made meals do you eat per week, including lunch (out of 21)?

a) under 10 25b) 10-14 20c) 14-18 15d) 18+ 10

6- When purchasing your food, does your family try to buy locally produced goods?

a) yes 25b) no 125c) sometimes 50d) rarely 100e) don’t know 75

Part III - TRANSPORTATIO

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7- If you or your family own vehicles, what type are they? Add points for each type of vehicle.

Pointsa) motorcycle 15b) small-compact 35c) mid-sized 60d) full-sized 75e) SUV or van 100f) truck 130

8- How do you get to school/work?

a) car 50b) public transit 25c) school bus 20d) walk 0e) bike or roller blade 0

9- How many trips do you make per week on public transit instead of by car?

a) 0 50b) 1-5 40c) 6-10 30d) 11-15 20e) 15+ 10

10- Where did you go on vacation in the last year?

a) no vacation 0b) in the province 10c) another province 30d) to the US 40e) outside North America 70

11- How many weekend trips do you take by car?

a) 0 0b) 1-3 10c) 4-6 20d) 7-9 30e) 9+ 40

Part IV - PURCHASES

12- How many large purchases (e.g., stereo, TV, VCR, DVD, computer, car, furniture, etc.) has your household made in the past year?

Pointsa) 0 0b) 1-3 15c) 4-5 30d) 6+ 45

13- Have you bought any energy efficient products in the past year (e.g., light bulbs, fridges, stoves, toilets)?

a) yes 0b) no 25

Part V - WASTE

14- Does your household try to reduce the amount of waste created in the house (e.g., buying food in bulk, refusing junk mail/flyers, using reusable containers for storage, using natural cleaners?

a) always 0b) sometimes 10c) rarely 20d) never 30

15- Does your household compost?

a) always 0b) sometimes 10c) rarely 15d) never 20

16- Does your household recycle newspapers, cardboard/boxboard/pizza boxes, fine paper, aluminium cans, glass/plastic bottles and other materials?

a) always 0b) sometimes 10c) rarely 15d) never 20

17- How many garbage bags of waste do you set out for pick-up each week?

a) 0 0b) one, half-full 5c) 1 10d) 2 20e) 2+ 30

What’s a Fair Earth share?Total your score by adding up the points from each

question, and compare it to the following chart.

Your Score Ecological Footprint in Hectares

Less than 150 Less than 4.0150 – 350 4.0 - 6.0350 – 550 6.0 - 7.7*550 - 750 7.7 - 10.0More than 750 More than 10.0

* The Canadian average.

Ecological Footprint Ranking Country Ecological Footprint

(Hectares per person)United States 9.72Canada 7.29Singapore 6.48Hong Kong 6.08Ireland 5.67France 5.27Iceland 4.86United Kingdom 4.46

Italy 4.05Portugal 3.65Malaysia 3.24Costa Rica 2.84Mexico 2.43World Average 2.03Egypt 1.62India 1.22Bangladesh 0.41

How many earth’s would be needed for everyone on earth to live like you?Your score in hecta