Ecological Footprint Report Overview and Marking Criteria

Student name: Guilherme Brandao Fonseca

Student number: 3530467

Task 2: Ecological Footprint Report Overview and marking criteria

Since the industrial Revolution, the consumption and the production have been increasing sharply all over the world. However, it results to some concerns about the environment and even about the world future. Then, several attitudes have been done to alert the population and try to change the individual’s behaviours about how much sustainable they are. One tool that is used to address it is the Ecological Footprint. Basically, it can be defined as a tool that provide you a measure of how much nature you have been used. In other words, CE0- Commissioner for Environmental Sustainability (2008) defines as: “Ecological Footprint is a tool for measuring how much nature is available, and how much is being used by society”. From this tool people can realize if they need to change their behaviours and become more sustainable. Then, this essay will provide information about the total number of worlds required if everyone lived as I do, and also some changes that are able to improve my marks. Based on fact that I am an overseas student my marks are different in Australia and in Brazil, and then both will be discussed.

To complete the Ecological Footprint the person is required to provide several information about your lifestyle, such as: What do you eat and how much; what kind of transport do you use and how much; How much do you waste; how much electricity and water do you use;… First of all, in the Australia situation I got 3.6 hectares of land to provide me the sources that I need to keep my current lifestyle. It means that 2 worlds would be necessary if everyone lived as I do. The global average is 1.2 worlds, and then I am 0.8 worlds over it. If the comparison would make covering my lifestyle back home, would be required 1.6 worlds, 0.4 over the global average. This difference is caused based on the fact that in Brazil I do not eat so much fish and do not use airplanes as much as in Australia, both play a big role on how much worlds are needed. Food seems to be the major culprit for my bad marks. It comes from the fact that I have been trying to set a diet based on huge amount of proteins, and proteins comes from animal that need a lot of land to be raised.

Five big changes were set to be done on my Ecological Footprint to improve my marks and then be more sustainable. They are related to the things that plays the major role on my bad marks. They are: Reduce the amount of meat that I consume daily; consume just fish and eggs as a protein source; Change housing; reduce the amount of waste that I do; and stop eats fish. As was covered, food is the major culprit for my marks, and then my first thought was set some changes on it to realize what I could do to be more sustainable and improve my results. If I reduce the amount of meat that I am used to consume to half, it will result on a better situation that is 1.7 worlds. In other words, an improvement of 0.3 worlds or 0.54 hectares of land. Even with it, I am still over the global average, now 0.5 worlds over it. The next step was realized and measures what kind of meat contributes more. Thus, my first approach was consume just fish instead of beef or chicken, and then I got 2.11 worlds as my new results, what prove that fish was the major culprit on my results. In that new situation I am 0.11 over my normal situation and almost one world over the global average. Finally, to finish the food changes the next stop was stop eat fish to prove how bad it is. After measure it I got 1.7 worlds or 3.2 hectares of land as my new result, in other words an improvement of 0.44 worlds from the last change, 0.3 from my normal behaviour in Australia and now 0.5 over the global average. It is possible to realize that reduce the amount of meat to half and keep the amount of meat but change the protein source play the role on the Ecological Footprint result.