ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

Our Household's Ecological Footprint

The world’s average footprint is just about 2.25 hectares (ha) while our household has a footprint of 1.6 ha per capital. At this time, the planet has just about 11.2 billion hectares (27.7 billion acres) of biologically productively and sea surfaces. Therefore, if all the people of the earth (7 billion) will live as we do, then the earth will have an ecological reserve. A global average of 1.0 ha per capital is equal to a demand of less than 50% of the earth’s bio capacity. as a result I can say that we are living within the means of nature and to some degree are contributing to environmental sustainability.

The major contributors to the 1.6 hectare footprint per capital of our household are food (11,618sqm ) and housing (3,374sqm), which mostly reflects electric and fuel consumption. For electric consumption, we pay an average of Php 10,000 for 320 kWh consumed per month. I am not sure whether this is acceptable, but we have noted that the present consumption is much larger than what we used to have about 3 years ago. Thus we are still trying to lessen electric consumption by means of reducing most particularly the use of air conditioner. Still, we know that this goal can also be achieved by using more energy efficient appliances so we are trying bit by bit or replace the old ones. Our electric consumption reflects 8,113 sqm of fossil energy per capital. Definitely, that number can still be significantly decreased.

For food, we consume 8,769 sqm of fossil energy, 9,659 sqm of arable land, and 42,051 sqm of pasture land (per capital). The major source of demand is by eating out. Approximately all of us eat out every day and this cannot be avoided because either the members of the family work or attend school. There are really several problems with eating out. First, the meals are repacked and it is very rarely that we can do something with our left over so it will not be deserted straight into the trash bin. However, at home, we have pets to eat our leftover. Second, the majority of food served in food chains is meat based, which requires a relatively larger land area. Thus, if we want to cut short our footprint in terms of food consumption, we should try as much as possible to stay out of food chains. We also should be cautious of what kind of food we eat. Lessening the consumption of egg per month might be of help, knowing that it requires great amount of fossil energy. Why eggs should not also be eaten in several servings per week.

The method of calculating our ecological footprint does not end with a projected figure. It is good to know that our household has a footprint of only 1.6 ha per capital. Though, numbers can only tell so much. In our part, we know that we can still improve our way of living and make it more pleasant with the environment. Recognizing this and practicing this knowledge makes more significance.