In 2007, we announced our first Vital Signs report: Utah Ecological Footprint Study. This report integrated data from many agencies and organizations, and calculated how well Utah is sustaining its unique natural heritage and preserving it for future generations.
Our research discovered that Utah is living beyond its ecological means, with consumption of resources exceeding nature’s renewable supply. Between 1990 and 2003, Utah went from an ecological surplus of 10.8 million global hectares to an ecological deficit of 2.4 million global hectares. (Click to see a graph)
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Teaching Suggestions for bettering our Ecological Footprints
First take the Ecological Footprint Quiz doing the best you can to reflect your own lifestyle. Write down your choices and the results, especially how many worlds you need. Then try the following.
Using the same parameters, try the following:
- another industrialized city/country – for example, Paris, France
- a truly poor country – for example, Nairobi, Kenya
- Beijing, China
Change parts of your lifestyle one area at a time, leaving the rest as you did at first, to see how much effect you can have on your footprint. For example:
- become a vegan or vegetarian
- give up your automobile or purchase a high mpg vehicle
- move to a smaller, multifamily house (try a row-house)
Remember, do these one at a time.
ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT QUIZ
The Quiz can also be found by going to Redefining Progress at www.rprogress.org. Click on the blue footprint.