by Trenna Sue Hiler

Created on: March 01, 2009   Last Updated: June 26, 2009

There was a time, back in the days of your, when leaving your footprint on the planet referred to the good things you has accomplished. It was a testament to the world being a better place because you personally make a positive impact on mankind.

Now when we talk about footprints they are ecological. It refers to the damage or impact we leave on the earth and in the atmosphere. If we realized that our actions have consequences that last for millions of years we may pay more attention. Perhaps this knowledge will help us make more educated and better decisions.

An ecological footprint is a unit of measure. It is expressed in global hectares (gha) or acres. 1 gha = 2.47 acres. So how does one measure these? There are several calculators are available to help us evaluate the impact we have on the planet. Even though we have calculators it is important to know what and how it is measured.

Bio-capacity refers to the capacity of a given biologically productive area to generate an on-going supply of renewable resources and to absorb its spillover wastes. Essentially is it calculating how to keep the space productive and undamaged.

This is the methodology used in the calculations.

*Add up the amount of bio-capacity in a specific area. How many hectares of land are dedicated to crop production, forests, carbon storage ares, pasture land, fishing, and built space?

*Use equivalence factors to normalize all bio-capacity categories into global hectares.

*Subtract bio-capacity for the needs of non-human life.

*Determine the average yield factors for a hectare ooof bio-capacity a populations consumptions and waste output requires over a course of a year.

*For a country-level footprint as additional step is take to add in imports and subtract exports in the final tally.

When visiting a site where you are going to calculate your environment foot print you will be asked questions about:

~Transportation

What kind of vehicle do you drive? Do you use public transportation?

~Buying trends

Are you supporting companies that are protecting the environment? Are you basing your purchases on today's needs or future needs as well?

~Food choices

Are you a supporter of organic food? How much meat do you consume?

~Cleaning process

Are you using chemicals that will harm the earth? Do you even know what chemicals are in the products you purchase?

~Electricity and other form of power

We are way past the time when just turning off the light is all we have to think of. We need to know hoow the power is being made before it enters our home as well. What impact does that process have on the earth.

Visit one of these great sites and become informed. Then choices can be made on personal beliefs and responsibility.

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