Ecological Footprint paper

Ecological Footprint Homework Assignment (100 point assignment)
due Friday, Oct 9th. If you want it to help your grade this quarter it must be turned in on time.
This is an important assignment. It is worth the same amount as an exam. It is worth 4 regular homework assignments. I will be available in the library Tuesday after school if anyone has questions, needs help, or needs to use the computers.

On a computer with internet access, go to the following site to calculate your ecological footprint.
http://www.myfootprint.org/#

Take the quiz, answering all the detailed questions.
You may need to ask your parents to help answer a few questions.

After taking the quiz, record the results. Include the following:
How many earths would we need if everyone lived the way you do?
What was your carbon footprint?
What was your food footprint?
What was your housing footprint?
What was your goods and services footprint?
How did these compare to the average for your country?


After you take the quiz, make a list five things you could change to minimize your footprint.
Next, click on the box labeled “Reduce your footprint” to see their suggestions.

Take the quiz again as if you have made these 5 changes to see how it would affect your score.

Now write a 1 page paper (at least 300 words) about your ecological footprint.

Some questions you might want to consider when writing your paper are:
Were you surprised by your score?
How do you feel about your score?
Is your lifestyle sustainable?
If everyone on earth tried to lived the way you do what would happen?
How would you like to live in another country where people use much fewer resources?
Is it fair that we use so many resources?
Do you plan on making any lifestyle changes?
When you grow up, do you think you will be more of less efficient than your parents?
Explain.

Extra credit: If you are still interested, you can check out other ecological footprint sites and compare them to the one above. Be sure to record your scores and write a short (100 word ) comparison. Below are a couple of other sites.
http://www.footprintnetwork.org/en/index.php/GFN/page/personal_footprint/
http://www.zerofootprintkids.com/kids_home.aspx