Renz Carlo M.

De Lara
2015-01152

Ecological Footprint
A Reflection on my Lifestyle

Your ecological footprint is a measure of your demand for nature. It also measures how
many of our ecological resources are needed in order to support one's lifestyle. Last Friday, I measured
my own ecological footprint through the use of online calculators and found out how many earths the
entire human race needs to fulfill my kind of lifestyle.
Although we have tried this before on our Environmental Science class, I still tried to
make sure if the answers are the same since we did it manually. If so, how has my lifestyle changed over
the past year? Back then, my result said that I needed 3 earths. And now, after a series of questions and
very specific answer, the result said the world needs 4 earths if everyone were to copy my lifestyle.
Imagine needing 3 more of what we have now just because I probably have been using my resources too
much. As a self-proclaimed environmentalist, this breaks my heart. Knowing that I, myself, uses too
much of what I need is really sad.
This is not always the case however. Maybe it does not mean the I am using too much of
what I need. I remember having careful answers to the questions and put specificities on it. I was
confident I would get a really low score, instead I got “4 earths”. One more explanation to this is that
maybe, this normal, environment-centered lifestyle of mine really does not work on this kind of earth
anymore. With the amount of population the earth has, and how exploited it is today than it was before.
Maybe being normal cannot be handled by our own home anymore. And this other explanation is more
saddening knowing that in a way, there’s almost nothing I can do about it, that is if I cannot find
alternatives from living in my ‘normal’ life.
As a future economist, I believe I can be of help to address this rising problem that our
world has. Management of resources are important and strategic urban planning and development can
ease or at least cushion the migration of the majority of the population to cities. Being able to have a
public knowledge and access to renewable energy also helps control and decrease our ecological
footprint. Also, population can be eased through thorough family planning and control. Lastly, as an
individual, I can be of help by cutting down my food intake and having a more balanced diet.
We now live in a more sensitive earth, perhaps it’s time to be more wary of our own
lifestyle and choices to help save it.