Προαιρετικές εργασίες - Natural resources and our ecological footprint

Each of us “consumes” a piece of nature every day. We are dependent on natural resources - productive land to grow our food, build our homes, produce our energy, and to store our wastes. How much we take from nature depends on our daily habits – the things we do each day that help us satisfy our needs and wants. An ecological footprint estimates how much “nature” a lifestyles requires. It estimates productive land and water needed to support what we use and what we throw away, measured in hectares. Ecological footprints can be calculated for individuals, communities, and even countries, and there are several easy to use online tools to estimate these (see www.myfootprint.org). With the ecological footprint concept, the more we consume and throw out, the more natural resources we use – and the more our footprint grows. If the ecological footprint indicates that more natural resources are used than the Earth supplies, then this is not a sustainable lifestyle. For example, the average North American requires 9 hectares and the European 4 hectares of productive Earth in order to support their current lifestyles. Nevertheless, based on current human population and bioproductive space*, nature can provide, and sustain, only about 2 hectares of land for every person in the world. If everyone lived like people in Europe or North America, we would need at least 2 more planets!

* There are 51 billion hectares (1 hectare=10.000 square meters) of surface on Earth, but only 12 billion (10 billion land and 2 billion water) are biologically productive, therefore capable of supporting human demand for resources and treatment of waste. There are more than 7 billion people on earth. So, if we have 12 billion hectares of land and 7 billion people, we get only 1.7 hectares each! Therefore, if we are to share the Earth’s resources equitably and have a sustainable lifestyle, our eco-footprint must be 1.7 hectares or less. What is more, humans are not the only creatures on earth that need food and shelter to survive; we share the planet with more than 10 million other species.

Activities
There are three activities that you can choose to do to get a better understanding of why natural resources are limited and what actions can we take to reduce our ecological impact. Feel free to make one, two, or all of them!
1. The allegorical apple:
Take a good-sized apple and imagine that it represents the Earth.

1. Cut the Earth into four pieces and discard three of the pieces representing saltwater oceans, 75% of the earth.
2. Slice the remaining piece of earth in half and discard one piece representing land which is inhospitable to people such as deserts.
3. Slice the remaining 1/8 of the Earth into four sections and set aside three of the sections representing areas too rocky, too steep, or too cold to produce food.
4. Carefully peel the skin off the remaining 1/32 slice of the earth. This represents the surface of the earth, the earth’s crust with its topsoil which humanity depends on.
5. The earth’s topsoil is only about five feet deep and produces a relatively fixed amount of food. Over farming and erosion take away 24 billion tons of topsoil per year. Each inch of top soil requires 100 years to form.

Now that you have read the process (you can also watch the video), try to do-it-yourself at home (be careful with the knife!). You can then make a photo-collage which depicts the process, or make a drawing of the process. Feel free to have fun and get creative!

2. Reduce your own ecological footprint:
Take the Ecological Footprint Quiz (http://www.myfootprint.org/) and write down your result. Ask for a friend to do the same and share your results. How many earths would we need if everyone lived according to your lifestyle? Why do you think is your ecological footprint so big? How do you feel about that?  Discuss with your peer ways to reduce your footprints and write a joint brief article (about 100 words) answering to those questions.

3. Become an active citizen and get your voice heard:
Now, let us bring the discussion a little broader - from individual, to community, to country, to Europe: how can we reduce the ecological footprint of our local communities, of our country, of European Union? It is our role as citizens to tell government, industry, our community what we think about problems, issues and solutions. One way to do this is to write a letter to the appropriate decision maker. Therefore, choose a person, social service, industry, company etc. and write a letter asking them to take the necessary actions to reduce the ecological footprint of their institution/community/organisation/country etc. For example, for local community issues you can write to the Mayor and Council, for food concerns you can write to a major food producer or to the agricultural ministry, and so on. Therefore, write a short letter (about 100-200 words) explaining what the ecological footprint is and why you are concerned about it and make a request of the person, government, or institution. The following tips will help you.

TIPS FOR WRITING EFFECTIVE LETTERS

• State your purpose for writing.
• Make a very specific request.
• Tell them about what you have been learning about, or about field trips you have done, and how you feel about the issue you are writing about.
• Make sure the letter goes to the right person. Should it go to anyone else as well? You can cc the letter to others (e.g. local newspaper/media).
• Be honest, and include only necessary facts and opinions.
• Be concise, brief, and organized. It would be nice if your letter fits on one page.
• Be courteous and polite. Respect goes a long way.
• Ask for a reply. Ensure your correct mailing address is on the letter and envelope.
• Check your letter before sending it: edit, revise, check for spelling.

References:
•    Sustainability Camp Curriculum, http://www.tbgf.org/sustainable-kids/curriculum/007-ecological-footprint-activities.php
•    Ecological Footprint Quiz, http://www.myfootprint.org/
•    Footprint Reports for Countries and Regions, http://www.footprintnetwork.org/pt/index.php/GFN/page/national_assessments/
•    The allegorical apple – video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wXYLcfVe9bw