The effect of your Ecological Footprint

Our Ecological Footprint is a measure of the mark that we leave on the natural world that sustains us, measured as the area of land required to provide the energy and resources we consume and to assimilate the waste produced. 

Every individual, household, school, business and ultimately every country consumes resources. Looking at the Ecological Footprint of different countries clearly shows the unequal distribution of resource consumption across the world.

If the earth’s resources were shared out fairly, it would take 1.9 global hectares (gha) - equivalent to five acres or approximately the size of two football pitches - to satisfy the needs of each person.

(Image courtesy of Joe Ravetz, CURE, Manchester)