Geography of Canada

Ecological Footprint &

Sustainability

“Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's need

but not every man's greed”

- Mahatma Gandhi

Nature provides us with many resources

Which of these resources do you thinkwe absolutely have to have in order to live ?

Human’s cannot live without:

Oxygen Fresh Water Food Proper Temperature Atmosphere

What is a Natural Resource?

• Anything found in nature that can be used by people.

• Can you think of any examples?

Renewable Resources

• Resources that can replace themselves even after they have been used

• These resources can renew themselves in a short period of time

• Examples – Farm products, Forests, Fish, Wild Animals hunted for

food, Wild plants, Soil

Non Renewable Resources

• Resources that are gone once they have been used

• These resources can only be created under certain conditions; usually over a long time (thousands of years)

• Examples – Minerals (copper, iron, aluminum), Non – Metallic

Minerals (Diamonds, Sand, Gravel) Fossil Fuels (coal, oil and natural gas)

Flow Resources

• Resources that are replaced naturally whether or not humans use them

• These resources exist because of natural systems and natural processes.

• Examples– Running water, wind, sunlight, ocean currents

Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprints are a measure of human impact on the

Earth. The footprint equals the Earth’s cost to sustain one

person.

It’s measured in global hectares.

It represents the land area needed to provide resources and absorb

waste and greenhouse gases produced by an individual.

Footprint by Consumption Category

Footprint by Biome Impact

• The ecological footprint measures your impact on 4 Ecosystems:

Ecological Footprint

• World Average 2.2 hectares• Biggest Footprint – United States 9.6 hectares• Smallest Footprint – Bangladesh 0.5 hectares• Average Canadian Footprint 8.6 hectares

Canada has the 3rd highest footprint in the world!

Why is Canada’s average footprint

so big?

Ecological Footprint

• We require …..• 0.2 hectares of land for water (to drink & provide seafood)• 0.4 hectares of land for home and roads and factories that

make the material things we crave• 1.6 hectares of land for farmland to grow the food we eat• 0.3 hectares of land for grazing land for meat and dairy • 1.4 hectares of land for timber wood and paper products• 4.7 hectares of land needed to absorb the greenhouse

gases produced by driving around town, through the running of air conditioners and the import of exotic goods and foods

= 8.6 hectares

Ecological Impact of Nations

• The map on the following slide shows various countries and regions of the world proportionate to their production and consumption of commercially traded fuels.

• All figures are in million metric tons of oil equivalent.

Ecological Impact of Nations

Patterns of Consumption

Carrying Capacity

What is Carrying Capacity?

• Carrying Capacity The number of individuals who can be supported in a given area within natural resource limits, without ruining the natural, social, cultural and economic environment for present and future generations.

Carrying Capacity

• There are only 15.71 global hectares available per person on a renewable basis. This means we are overshooting the Earth's capacity by nearly 50%. To sustain present levels of consumption, we would need:

What is Stewardship?

The responsibility we all have to the environment and resources that has been

left to us by our ancestors. We are all stewards to our planet.

Brainstorm 5 things you can do to become an

Environmental Steward!!!

What is Sustainability?

The ability to provide for the needs of the world's current population without damaging

the ability of future generations to provide for themselves.

Stewardship vs. Sustainability

• If we are not all following our role as stewards in the global village, then we will not have a sustainable environment for our future children.

“We do not inherit the earth from our grandparents, we borrow it

from our children.”

- What Does that Mean?

Sustainability

We must all do our part to keep our consumption of resources

to a minimum ad the environment around clean.

Are you doing your part??