WU Week 5Household Ecological Footprint Calculations Lab Report

Description

Lab: Household Ecological FootprintIntroductionWe all purchase goods and services, use energy, transport ourselves from one location to another, eat, drink, and produce waste. We know that our actions impact the world around us, but by how much?The ecological footprint is a conceptual framework and metric which we can use to estimate the entire ecological impact of our lives. It can also be calculated for a given service, product, or organization. Ecological footprint calculators are accounting tools that can be used to estimate the environmental costs associated with our lives and lifestyles.In this lab you will use two online calculators to estimate the impact that your household or you personally have on our environment.To complete the labDownload the lab packet and be sure to complete BOTH sections 1 and 2.Document: Week 5 Lab Packet (Word document)
Read through all sections to prepare for the lab. Note that some sections require you to collect data over multiple days. Be sure to leave enough time in the week to complete these sections.By Day 7Submit your Completed Lab Packet.

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Week 5: Household Ecological Footprint
Lab Report (80 points)
Updated: 11/25/19
Name:
_________________
Date:
_________________
Professor:
_________________
Time involved: This lab is conducted online and is estimated to take about two hours to complete.
Introduction
We all purchase goods and services, use energy, transport ourselves from one location to another, eat,
drink, and produce waste. We know that our actions impact the world around us, but by how much?
The ecological footprint is a conceptual framework and metric which we can use to estimate the entire
ecological impact of our lives. It can also be calculated for a given service, product, or organization.
Ecological footprint calculators are accounting tools that can be used to estimate the environmental
costs associated with our lives and lifestyles.
In this lab you will use two online calculators to estimate the impact that your household or you
personally have on our environment.
Footprint Calculators
1. Ecological Footprint Calculator. Retrieved from:
http://www.footprintcalculator.org/
2. Ecological Footprint Calculator (nature.org). Retrieved from:
https://www.nature.org/en-us/get-involved/how-to-help/consider-your-impact/carboncalculator/
3. Ecological Footprint Calculators. Retrieved from:
http://www.scienceforthepeople.net/CapBld/foot/Efootcalc_front.htm
Supporting Resources
•
•
•
Ecological Footprint Overview. Retrieved from:
http://www.scienceforthepeople.net/CapBld/foot/Efoot.htm
Ecological Footprint Basics. Retrieved from:
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/footprint_basics_overview/
Online Calculator
https://www.desmos.com/scientific
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Directions and Preparation
In this lab, you will use two separate calculators to make an estimate of your household or individual
footprint and develop a better understanding of how you impact the environment. The first two links in
the Footprint Calculators will be used in this process. If either link fails, the third link includes a list of
different calculators. Please use this report form for your responses and place all your data into the
tables provided.
To make these estimations, the footprint calculator will ask you to estimate a variety of quantities
related to your lifestyle. For instance, you will need to estimate the number of miles that you drive and
the gas mileage of the car that you use, if you drive. You may need some scratch paper or a calculator
to make these supporting measurements. A link to an online calculator, along with some additional
information about ecological footprints, is included in the Supporting Resources section above.
Finally, you will analyze your footprints and consider what you or your household might do to reduce
them. You will also consider why your footprint is different or similar to others in your country and what
your society at large might do to reduce its average footprint. The Supporting Resource links above may
help with these sections of your report.
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Section 1: Footprint Calculator 1 (40 points total)
Use the first link above to the ecological footprint calculator . Select the “Add Details to Improve
Accuracy” option every time it’s available to ensure greater precision and respond to each prompt as
accurately as you are able. You must select “save” for your details to remain with the calculator. At the
end of the data entry process you will be provided with an estimate of how many earths it would take to
support the human population if everyone lived as you do. Be sure that you click on the “See Details”
part of this page to get a more detailed summary of your footprint. Viw the small “i” icons to better
understand your results and complete your report. Scrolling over various components of this page will
provide more details about each result. Do not close out of the footprint results until you have
completed Section 3, the Analysis component of the report.
Section 1A: Footprint Overview (9 points)
What is the overall ecological footprint of your household in terms of:
Earths:
_________
Earth Overshoot Day:
_________
What is the country average ecological footprint for the US in number of Earths: ___________
Explain the concept of Earth Overshoot Day:
Section 1B: Footprint Details (13 points)
Ecological Footprint in global hectares (gha): _________
Carbon footprint (emissions in tonnes per year): _________
Carbon footprint (% of your total footprint):
_________
Describe the concept of an Ecological Footprint:
Define global hectares (gha) and explain how many gha exist per person globally.
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Beyond the carbon footprint, what are the four “land types” you have the largest impact on and what is
the area in global hectares (gha) of your footprint associated with each? Roll your mouse over the pie
chart to gather these details.
Table 1.1: Land Type and Impact in gha (8 points)
Land Type
Your footprint (global hectares)
This calculator analyzes your footprint into five consumption categories. List these categories in order of
largest to smallest impact and indicate the area in global hectares (gha) of your footprint associated with
each category. Roll your mouse over the category images for these details.
Table1.2: Consumption Categories (10 points)
Consumption Category
Your footprint (global hectares)
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Section 2 Footprint Calculator 2 (8 points in total)
Use the 2nd link to the ecological footprint calculator and open the link on a different web page than
your first footprint results. This is a much simpler calculator and largely based on average consumption
in your area. There is no need to provide your zip code unless you would like to do so. Choose
“Advanced” when responding to increase accuracy. Respond to each prompt as accurately as you are
able. Do not close out of the footprint results until you have completed Section 3, the Analysis
component of the report
Section 2: Footprint Calculator 2 Results
Total footprint in tons of CO2 per year: _________
Comparison to Average:
________
Define Carbon Footprint:
Section 3: Analysis and Conclusion (32 points in total)
Question 1: In two or more paragraphs summarize the highlights of your personal impact report. (8
points)
Question 2: Compare your two footprint estimates by considering the carbon footprint in tonnes per
year that each one calculated that the human population would need if everyone lived like you.
Consider how similar or different the results are between these estimation tools and discuss how and
why they might be different. (3 points)
Question 3: In two or more paragraphs, indicates some of the most important but also feasible ways
that you can reduce your impact. Be as specific as possible about the aspect of your footprint that would
be reduced by your proposed lifestyle changes. (6 points)
Question 4: In one or more paragraphs, compare your footprint to the country average. How are they
similar and how are they different? Try to account for any differences that may exist. (3 points)
Question 5: In two or more paragraphs, reflect on your country average footprint and consider how
your society might lower its average footprint. (6 points)
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Question 6: Describe how your ecological footprint estimates might be useful generally. (3 points)
Question 7: In one or more paragraphs reflect on your learning in this lab. (3 points)

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environmental science

human harming activities

Household Ecological Footprint

ecological impact

Ecological footprint calculators

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