Decreasing Your Ecological Footprint

There are many ways to reduce your ecological footprint. It all depends on your lifestyle and your day to day activities. Which means that everyone’s ecological footprint is different. There are many contributing parts to the ecological footprint. The carbon footprint makes the most impact. Therefore we will focus on that.

The carbon footprint (CF) is the number of Greenhouse gases you emit (measured in CO2) by doing your day to day activities. To help reduce your CF, you must understand the impact of each activity. For example, buying and consuming B.C apples from the grocery store is leaving a large CF which we don't think of. Things that contribute to this example are transportation, cleaning method, processing, packaging and, storage. To reduce the CF, we need to eliminate/reduce some of these factors. 

First of all, what is an Ecological footprint? 

Ecological footprints measure the amount of land or sea area that you use to live.

For example, if every person on this earth lived like me, it would take about 3.5 Earths. Using an ecological footprint calculator is one way of measuring a person’s ecological footprint.

What are the 5 main parts of an Ecological footprint?

Built-up Land → Settlement

Forest → Timber & Paper

Carbon Footprint → Energy Usage

Cropland & Pasture → Food & Fiber

Fisheries → Seafood

The only problem is that all of these key parts end up relating to our key point. The carbon footprint. Everyone has a carbon footprint. It measures the amount of GHG (Greenhouse gases) are emitted into the atmosphere. It is the same thing as an ecological footprint but you focus more on the carbon/energy usage rather than the amount of land you use. 

History

The concept of the ecological footprint was created at the University of British Columbia by Dr. William Rees, a Canadian ecologist that developed this idea in the early 1990s along with another ecologist named Mathis Wackernagel who is also the founder of the Ecological Footprint Network. Together they both created this concept and released it to the world.

Carbon Footprint

Different Ways to Reduce Your Carbon footprint

Eat less meat

Unplug your electronic device

Drive less, walk, carpool or bike instead

Don’t buy fast fashion, buy second hand

Plant a garden

Eat local and organic food

Line-dry your clothes

Buy appliances that are eco-friendly and use less energy (refer to EnerGuide)

The list is great but if we make it into four main categories, don’t you think it would be easier to enforce? Let us see,

Transportation

Food & Fibre

 Energy

Taking Action

Transportation:

Cars, trucks, buses, boats, planes and, etc are used in our everyday lives. If we take a step back and think about it, transportation causes almost half of our putrid air pollution. It is more than a third work of GHG emissions.  Cars are some of the worst criminals ever. Vehicles contribute the greatest amount of CO2 emissions, Which also pollutes our water and air with their exhaust and road runoffs.

 Some things we should be considering are:

Check the Canadian government’s Auto Smart ratings for your vehicle’s fuel efficiency.  Walk, bike, carpool or take transit to get to one of your regular destinations each week.

Learn about the impacts of air travel and consider vacationing close to home.

If you are moving, choose a home within a 30-minute bike, walk or transit ride from your daily destinations. A convenient place to live reduces the amount you drive, which means you will lower your greenhouse gas emissions and other pollutants.

Food:

 

There over 7.53 billion humans on this earth. Simply feeding cows has led to all kinds of environmental havoc — air pollution, loss of soil and increased methane. It’s time to clean up our act. We can have a huge effect on climate change by simply changing a few of our food habits. Here’s how.

Eat wisely. Choose foods that are local, organic and low on the food chain whenever possible. Make the most of seasonal foods.

Buy sustainable seafood.

Take care of your trash. Composting all organic waste — and recycling paper, cardboard, cans and bottles — will help reduce the greenhouse gas emissions associated with landfills.

Energy:

You’ve probably heard that Canada is the largest consumer of energy in the world on a per capita basis (per unit of population), and the second-largest producer of greenhouse gases (after the United States). We have just over 30 million people, but we use as much energy as the entire continent of Africa, home to 700 million! Wasting energy hurts nature and your wallet because energy efficiency means lower bills as well as less pollution. Here’s how to stem your energy leaks:

Reduce your home heating and electricity use. A more energy-efficient home will lower your utility bills and reduce the emissions that cause climate change. Find out how you can increase energy efficiency in your home through the EnerGuide for Houses program.

Choose energy-efficient appliances. New refrigerators, for example, use 40 percent less energy than models made just 10 years ago.

Last but not least, your cooperation and actions: 

As individuals, we can make our homes, schools, and offices more sustainable. By doing so, it has a huge impact on your ecological footprint and the world. We also need policy movers and shakers to step up to the plate — with incentives for fuel-efficient technologies. We should be talking to the government and speaking on banning toxic chemicals and strategies to protect endangered species, to name a few. No one is asking you to stay home and lock yourself in a closet. Get out in the world! Just try to lighten your footprint.

• Renewable Energy Sources

• There are many different types of renewable energy sources that we can be used rather than fossil fuels. These fuels can be used for everything and anywhere from kitchens to cars, the possibilities are endless. That is why we should be enforcing them more.

• Here is a list of some of the best renewable and sustainable energy sources:

• Fly ash

• Hydropower

• Wind power

• Solar power

• Lithium-Ion Batteries

• Graphene

• Bio-gas

• Geothermal power

• Tidal power (mostly for coastline cities)

There are many more but I narrowed it down to the best ideas.

In conclusion, there are many things to learn and gain more knowledge on this concept but that doesn't mean that you should not explore more into this concept. Even I don’t have enough knowledge about the concept. We must dive deep and learn more.  Take your action and keep the earth happy!