Australian Average per Capita Eco-footprint
Don't act your shoesize
Everything we do and consume as humans has an impact on the environment. Regardless of whether you're a vegetarian or not, vegetation has probably been cleared to grow the food you eat. Similarly, whether you drive to work or catch a train, non-renewable resources are being utilised to power both modes of transport.
Originally proposed as a simple method for comparing the sustainability of
resource usage amongst populations, an ecological footprint calculates the land
area that would be needed to sustain an individual (or town, company or country)
indefinitely.
To determine whether a population has a sustainable ecological
footprint, the figure calculated is compared with the land area actually available.
Generally, if you live in an industrialised country like Australia you are
likely to have an ecological footprint four times the size of a person who lives
in a low-income country such as Costa Rica. The latest calculation of global ecological footprints estimates that the average for all people on Earth is 2.18 hectares. The average Australian footprint is 7.09 hectares.
To stay within the Earth's carrying capacity everyone on Earth would need an average footprint of 1.89 hectares - so we are currently over the limit and rapidly depleting the Earth's resources.
Reducing your footprint
Find out what you impact is using ACF's Ecocalculator.
Do you want to reduce the size of your footprint but don't know how? Well join the GreenHome Challenge and we'll help you take actions to reduce your impact.
If you want to calculate your own personal ecofootprint there are online calculators
you can use:
■ The Powerhouse Museum Ecologic program
■ Victorian EPA (for Victorian residents)
■ International footprints - Redefining Progress
(Graph source: Lenzen, M. and Murray, S. A. (2001). A modified ecological footprint method and its application to Australia. Ecological Economics 37: 229-255)