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Our Ecological Footprint- Local and Global Mountaintop removal is one of the most obvious forms of environmental degradation that occurs as a result of our country's unsustainable use of fossil fuels. Click here to read more about Mountaintop Removal. Right now, we are consuming more resources than the earth can effectively regenerate. We are also producing more waste than the earth can adequately absorb. These two factors are often discussed in terms of an individual's or a country's "ecological footprint." The ecological footprint is a tool used to measure how much land and water are required for a human population to continue consuming resources and producing wastes at a particular rate. Currently, humans are 23 % above a sustainable level of consumption on average.1 So what is the real importance of knowing your individual and your country's ecological footprint? Industrialized countries like the U.S. have the opportunity to understand our own consumption habits relative to those of other countries. This can help us keep our own consumption in check and ultimately take steps to stop disproportionately degrading the global environment. It also illustrates the immediate impact each one of us is having on the environment in a clear, understandable way. Knowing what your ecological footprint looks like means you have the chance to live a more sustainable and healthy lifestyle and to encourage others to do the same! Find out more and what you can do to shrink your own ecological footprint www.footprintnetwork.org or www.rprogress.org To measure your ecological footprint by answering questions about your lifestyle and daily decisions, visit www.myecologicalfootprint.org or www.earthday.net   12003-2006 Global Footprint Network   Up to Top HOME | Email Signup | About Us | Contact Us | Terms of Use | © 2008 Sierra Club