Ecological Footprints Compared
SVN3M - Sustainability
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS COMPARED
Name:______
1.Read the information in the charts from the Toronto Star article, “Ecological Footprints Compared”, by Peter Gorrie, published on July 1, 2005.
2.Which of the 4 lifestyles described, most closely resembles the lifestyle of you and your family? Explain.
3.a)Which lifestyle has the least amount of potential savings in their ecological footprint? Explain why.
b)Which lifestyle change would help the midtown jetsetter save the most on their ecological footprint?
4.a)How much forested land is needed to absorb 1 tonne of greenhouse gases?
b)What are 3 ways of releasing 1 tonne of carbon into the atmosphere?
c)What is the sea used for?
5.Graph the Food, Transportation, Housing and Goods/Services ecological footprints in hectares. Make a bar graph. Use a different colour for each lifestyle. Title and make a key for your graph.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINTS COMPARED
Name:___Answers______
1.Read the information in the charts from the Toronto Star article, “Ecological Footprints Compared”, by Peter Gorrie, published on July 1, 2005.
2.Which of the 4 lifestyles described, most closely resembles the lifestyle of you and your family? Explain.
Decide based on comparing your eating habits, your most common mode of transportation, where you live in (and type of housing), as well as consumption patterns (particularly shopping for clothes, electronics, entertainment, traveling for pleasure).
3.a)Which lifestyle has the least amount of potential savings in their ecological footprint? Explain why.
Downtown vegetarian –food and transportation footprints are already low, only small improvements possible to achieve with housing and goods and services.
b)Which lifestyle change would help the midtown jetsetter save the most on their ecological footprint?
Using teleconferencing or switching to a job requiring less travel would have the greatest impact (saves 9.2 hectares)
4.a)How much forested land is needed to absorb 1 tonne of greenhouse gases?
1 hectare of land is required to absorb 1 tonne of GHGs
b)What are 3 ways of releasing 1 tonne of carbon into the atmosphere?
Driving 15,000 km, flying 30 hours, consuming 1.5 kg a week of beef
c) What is the sea used for?
Absorbing carbon dioxide
5.Graph the food, transportation, housing and Goods/Services ecological footprint in hectares. Make a bar graph. Use a different colour for each lifestyle. Title and make a key for your graph.
Essential parts of a good graph:
- Have a title for the graph and label all axes in a meaningful manner with necessary units (e.g. hectares, tones of carbon, etc.)
- Make a key/legend for your graph with simple, clear descriptions
- Use a meaningful colour scheme (e.g. all Food footprints have the same colour and pattern)
