Module 9 Consumer education - APCEIU

Begin by opening your learning journal for this activity.
The use of natural resources and
production of pollution degrade the lifesupport
systems on Earth. This causes
natural cycles and ecosystems to be less
able to perform the vital functions that
support all life on Earth.
Both high consumption or usage of
resources, particularly in countries of the
North, and population numbers contribute
to our impact on the environment. The
impact of all our activities can be likened
to an imprint or 'footprint' on Earth. This
imprint is referred to as our 'Ecological
Footprint'.
Just as we say that a computer has a big or small 'footprint', depending on how much
space it takes up on our desktop, we can say that the lifestyle choices we make have a
footprint on the Earth. Our Ecological Footprint is a measure of the human impact on
nature - it shows how much productive land and water we use to produce all the
resources we consume and to take in all the waste we make.
Ecological Footprint Analysis is an innovative and rigorous way of measuring whether
the impacts of our lifestyle choices are sustainable.
Increasingly, we are coming to realise that we are using up more resources than
nature can replace and producing far more waste than nature can safely absorb. So, it
is sometimes said that the human Ecological Footprint is too large.