How to reduce ecological footprint

The ecological footprint is the way to measure the dependency that human beings have of natural resources of the earth, by calculating the amount of services of nature that are necessary to maintain a certain lifestyle. That is to say, The ecological footprint is an indicator of the impact that our activities and elections in terms of the land required to sustain the use of natural resources associated with these activities. The unit of measure used to calculate the ecological footprint is the global hectares, which measure the biologically productive terrain quantity (with a productivity just like the average of the planet) or of water necessary to maintain our lifestyle.

The ecological footprint can be measured for different human groups, be it a country, a city, an individual or the entire planet. It is a form of Check sustainability Of that human group, that is, whether you can maintain your lifestyle and habits in time indefinitely without compromising this capacity for generations to come or not. Sustainability occurs when that lifestyle can be maintained over time, so that human demand and the ability to cover that need by nature coincide (or if the second is greater than the first). In the opposite case in which the ecological footprint exceeds the Biocapacity of the system (that is, that human demand exceeds the supply of the earth), these habits could not be maintained indefinitely over time.

We recommend this other ecology article to deepen this issue of the ecological footprint: simple definition. Below is a series of measures on How to reduce ecological footprintattending to different aspects, such as the means of transport, housing, food and goods we consume and the energy use habits we have.

They can be used Sustainable alternatives to the most polluting means of transport (motorcycles and cars), as are The bicycle, public transport, skates or walking. Not driving polluting vehicles can reduce a person’s ecological footprint by up to 20%. In addition, the reduction in the use of private transport also has associated benefits such as the decrease in jams and air pollution. In turn, when making short distance trips, it is preferable to use media such as the train or bus to an plane, since the latter emit water vapor and nitrous oxide at high altitudes, which entails an impact of between 2 and 4 times greater magnitude than the emission of CO2.

Among the easy implementation measures are The use of low consumption bulbs, the installation of walls and bending roofs and double glass windowsas well as the use of energetically efficient devices (such as taps, toilets or shower heads), recycled furniture (second -hand or produced sustainably) and cleaning products that are not toxic to the environment or health of people.

Some simple actions to reduce the ecological footprint improving consumption habits are:

• Keep the thermostat relatively low during the winter months and decrease the use of air conditioning In the hot season, in addition to worrying about keeping the air conditioning filters clean so that it works with the greatest possible efficiency, they can help reduce the ecological footprint. In this post you can know how to refresh the house without air conditioning.
• Unplug the electrical devices when they are not in usesince in “stand by” they continue to consume energy.
• Other actions aimed at reducing the ecological footprint can be let clothes dry When possible, instead of using a dryer, as well as defrosting both the refrigerator and the freezer on a regular basis.
• As for consumption habits, it is recommended to buy second -hand goods when possible, as well as avoid single -use products. Related to this aspect, it is important to reduce or eliminate single -use plastics (for example, bags, coffee vessels or straws or reeds), using alternatives such as fabric or metal containers.
• Reduce the level of consumption trying to give a second life to objects that we already have, repair those that do not work instead of buying a new one and, in general, consume quality products that have long hopes of useful life.
• It is also key Recycle waste of cardboard, paper, plastic, glass …
• Reduce water consumption giving shorter and more spaced showers in time and using the washing machine and dishwasher exclusively when they are full. In this link you can know tips to save water at home.

Measures such as:

• The purchase of local and seasonal foodthat have not been transported long distances until they reach us, thus reducing the carbon footprint associated with its production and marketing.
• Buy Ecological Production Foods that guarantee the minimum possible use of insecticides and fertilizers in their production, which are polluting sources for the environment and living organisms.
• If possible, it is also beneficial to reduce the negative impact on the planet grow your own foodsuch as fruits and vegetables, thus reducing both the energy used and the waste associated with the production of food derived from its transport, its cooling and packaging.
• Reduction of meat consumptionsince the meat industry is responsible for an amount of greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transport sector. It is estimated that the ecological footprint of vegetarian people is half than that of people who carry an omnivorous diet with high meat and fish.

We encourage you to read this other post about sustainable food: what is and how to achieve it.

To calculate the ecological footprint, various variables must be taken into consideration, which can complicate the process. It is for this reason that there are several pages on the Internet that offer this free service through a Ecological footprint calculator At the individual level according to the habits of the person in question. To do this, it is based on the user’s answers to some questions in relation to:

• Food: Amount of animal products that are normally consumed, if food is processed, if they are of local origin or if they are packaged.
• The type of housing: How many people live together, the dimensions of the home, with what accommodations it has, if it is energetically sustainable or its construction materials.
• Other aspects: The percentage of the electricity supply from renewable energy sources, the average amount of garbage it generates and the transport habits (number of weekly kilometers of motorcycle or car, number of annual hours of transport by plane …).

The answers to these questions are weighted, giving rise to numerical result on how many planets would be necessary to provide the natural resources that cover those needs if all people lead that same lifestyle.

Another form of calculate the ecological footprint It is through one of the numerous existing equations: one represented in the equation as EF for the acronym of the term in English “Ecological Footprint“, at the nation level, such as the one proposed by Tiezzi and collaborators in their scientific article, which is:

EF = σti/yw x eqfi

In this calculation of the ecological footprint, You It is the amount of each product Yo which is consumed in the country (measured in tons per year), Yw It is the annual average of each product Yoand EQFI It is the equivalence factor for each product Yo, This is a factor that serves to convert a certain land area into the global hectare units in which the ecological footprint is measured. These factors are not static, but vary according to the year and land use. There are, in turn, harvest factors that take into account the largest or lower impacts that have different types of land in the calculation of the ecological footprint. The Tiezzi equation compares the amount of goods consumed by a country in relation to the average world production of these goods.

In the video below you can find more information about what the ecological footprint is and how it is calculated.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tm2be7mqyky

If you want to read more articles similar to How to reduce ecological footprintwe recommend that you enter our category of other ecology.