Question

1. What is being estimated when an ecological footprint is calculated?

2. Do technological advancements always lead to an increase in the size of the human footprint?

Briefly explain your answer.

3. Give an example of a type of pollution that isn’t a chemical or a solid

Answer 1

1.

Ecological footprint is the amount of biologically productive land and water supplied to people of a country or a specific area with continuous supply of renewable sources, absorption and recycling of wastes produced and pollution generated by utilization of such resources.

The per capita ecological footprint is the average ecological footprint utilized by an individual in a given country or an area.

The total ecological footprint of U.S is about 25% of global biological capacity; whereas the ecological footprint of China is about 18%. U.S has 7% more ecological footprint over China.

The per capita ecological footprint (An estimate of consumption of earth’s renewable sources by an individual) of U.S is the second largest in the world, first being the United Arab Emirates. The U.S. per capita ecological footprint is about 4.5 times the average per capita footprint of an individual in the globe. It is about 6 times larger than the China’s per capita ecological footprint. (According to data collected in 2003).

2.

Yes. Technological advancements always lead to an increase in the size of the human footprint. This is because technology help to use more renewable energy resources and new techniques for recycling allow to produce and recycle more wastes and further may increase the pollutions. Currently, advanced technologies in various fields not only increased the size of human ecological footprint but also caused the earth at threatening conditions due to pollution, depletion of resources and loss of biodiversity.

3.

Pollution can be defined an unwanted change causing contamination of the environment by a specific chemical agents or other agents such as heat and noise affecting the health and survival of the humans by human activities or through other organisms. The single identifiable sources of pollution are called point sources. An exhaust pipe of an automobile and drain pipe of a factory are point sources of pollution. Carbon dioxide and methane are known as green house gases. These gases absorb and release the energy that warms up the lower atmosphere. Heavy utilization of nonrenewable resources like coal, natural gas and using other fossil fulels release these gaseous pollutants that cause global warming which is a threatening condition that changes earth's climatic conditions rapidly.