Global climate change, air pollution, poor quality water, dangerous geological processes. These and many other problems of our time have arisen as a result of a significant increase in the so-called "ecological footprint". This concept is conditional and, unfortunately, not every inhabitant of our planet knows. The term was introduced in 1992 by scientist William Reese. Ecological footprint shows the degree of human impact on the environment. The concept allows us to calculate the size of the territory necessary for the production of bioresources and waste storage. Scientists have calculated that over the past decades, the global "ecological footprint" of all mankind is 30% higher than the planet's ability to reproduce resources. In addition, this figure continues to grow inexorably. Among the leaders with a high indicator of "ecological footprint": China, UAE and. Third world countries such as Mongolia, Bangladesh, Namibia and others cause a minimum of harm to nature. Our country is somewhere in the middle. Of course, the degree of "ecological footprint" of a state depends on the number of plants and factories, as well as on the developed industry. But let's not forget that on these indicators separately.

Finding out what your personal Ecological Footprint is is not difficult at all. Calculators for calculating this indicator have long been popular in the West. If you haven't heard of them, check out their website. World Wildlife Fund (WWF)– or just search “how to calculate your ecological footprint” in a search engine and use the suggested resources. With the help of simple calculations, you will understand how overexpenditure of our planet's resources. To reduce your ecological footprint, it is worth remembering

G I L E:

• insulate your home
• defrost the refrigerator regularly;
• install hot and cold water meters in the apartment, as well as a more economical electricity tariff;
• install heat regulators for batteries;
• create a "green corner" at home or in the country, thereby you will help nature to quickly reproduce the resources we need so much.

E N E R G I A:

• keep your windows clean and;
• keep radiators clean and do not clutter them with furniture and curtains;
• use only energy-saving light bulbs;
• always turn off TVs, computers and other devices that consume energy even in "sleep" mode;
• do not leave chargers on after use;
• if possible, use the economy mode during washing - this can reduce energy consumption by 80%;
• control the amount of water used to cook vegetables and eggs;
• do not turn on the stove in advance.

TRANSPORT:

• buy travel cards for trolleybuses, trams and metro. This will save you money and serve to preserve the forest;
• occasionally refuse to drive a car;
• walk more often
• give preference to small cars;
• turn off the car engine even during short stops;
• travel by train, not by plane;
• try to get closer to home.

FOOD:

• give preference to seasonal products;
• give up meat at least one day a week;
• minimize food waste. Buy as much food as you can eat;
• refuse semi-finished products;
• adjust the temperature in the refrigerator depending on its filling;
• use ecological bags when going to the store;

WATER:

• instead of frequent baths, limit yourself to quick showers;
• boil as much water as you need at the moment;
• boil water in an electric kettle, not on the stove;
• remember the rational use of hot and cold water;
• avoid bottled water. Install a stationary filter next to the sink;
• when washing the car, use a bucket, not a hose;
• use rainwater for irrigation purposes.

WASTE:

• do not throw large garbage into sinks and toilets;
• make it a rule to sort household waste;
• do not throw away batteries and accumulators. Take them to special points;
• do not throw away worn-out things - give them to orphanages and other people in need;
• collect used paper and recycle it;
• buy recycled goods.

You probably won't be able to do all of the above at once. But this does not mean that they do not need to be observed at all. Remember that if the global "ecological footprint" of humanity continues to grow at the same rate, then in 20-30 years we will need another planet.

We may need another planet very soon

Ecology tests for elementary school

Test No. 1 on the topic "Ecology"

1. What is nature?

2. What does nature give to man?

3. Name the protected plants in our area.

4. What animals are included in the Red Book of our country?

5. How do living organisms interact in nature?

6. What medicinal plants do you know?

7. How do you assess the state of the environment in our area?

8. How does a person destroy the environment?

9. What can people do to protect the environment?

Test 2 in the section "Plants"

1. Why are houseplants always green?
a) people take care of them
b) brought from warm countries where there is no winter
c) grow in rooms

2. Which of the following plants reproduce by seeds?
a) potatoes
b) cucumbers
c) currant

3. What is the role of the forest in nature?
a) air protection
b) material for making furniture
c) soil protection
d) resting place

4. Which of the listed plants is listed in the Red Book of the Sverdlovsk region?
a) chamomile
b) coltsfoot
c) lady's slipper

5. Cross out the extra word in each group:
a) tradescantia, lily of the valley, begonia, chlorophytum
b) plantain, mint, St. John's wort, aloe
c) narcissus, lilac, tulip, aster

6. What place should be chosen for a fire so as not to harm nature?
a) an open field
b) river bank
c) coniferous young
d) birch grove

7. Find out the natural area by its description: “Wherever you look, grass and grass are everywhere. Trees do not grow here due to lack of moisture. Fescue, feather grass, and wormwood grow in the southern part. The soils are very fertile."
a) tundra
b) steppe
c) forest zone

8. You cut the mushroom and soon you will see that its leg has darkened on the cut, but this one never gets dark. Even when you dry it. Maybe that's why the mushroom got its name. Underline the correct answer:
a) boletus
b) white mushroom
c) boletus
d) oiler

9. Which of these plants can be used to make tea? Emphasize:
St. John's wort, wormwood, raspberry, mint, primrose, linden, crow's eye, currant, dandelion, quinoa.

10. What is the name of the state reserve located on the territory of the Sverdlovsk region?

Test 3 in the section "Animals"

1. Domestic farm animals are:
a) mammals, fish, birds, insects
b) animals, birds, amphibians, fish
c) birds, reptiles, amphibians, fish

2. What group do animals belong to, which spend part of their lives on the ground, and part in the water?
a) fish
b) reptiles
c) amphibians

3. Which of these animals are reptiles?
a) toad
b) turtle
c) triton
d) a snake

4. Why can't you touch the eggs in the nests of wild birds?
a) eggs can be damaged
b) the bird will leave the nest
c) the bird is scared

5. Why do swallows and swifts fly high in good weather, and above the ground in wet weather?
a) afraid of the rain
b) wings get wet from moist air
c) looking for food

6. What kind of animals will people help if they protect spruces and pines in the forest?
a) crossbilly, squirrel, woodpecker
b) hazel grouse, elk, hare
c) lynx, bear, hawk

7. Food chains end:
a) predatory animals
b) plants
c) herbivores

8. What will happen if people destroy foxes in the food chain "rye - mouse - foxes"?
a) there will be more mice, the yield of rye will decrease
b) there will be more mice, an increase in the yield of rye
c) first there will be more mice, and then the rye yield will decrease, which will lead to a decrease in the number of mice

9. Which of the listed birds are listed in the Red Book?
a) snake-eater
b) kingfisher
c) starling
d) black stork
e) osprey

10. Old hollow trees were cut down in the forest. Soon the young forest died. Explain why?

Test 4 in the section "Nature and Man"

1. What are the names of the places where minerals occur?
a) ravines
b) mines
c) deposits
d) mountains

2. What is the importance of swamps for the purification of natural water?
a) release chemicals that refresh water and improve its taste;
b) passing through a thick layer of peat, thickets of moss and grass, it is freed from dust, harmful substances, microbes;
c) there are more useful minerals in the water.

3. Why is smoke from a fire more dangerous to human health than fire?
a) blinds the eyes
b) makes breathing difficult
c) contains toxic substances - combustion products

4. In what state does water pass when it is cooled to 0 0C?
a) solid
b) liquid
c) gaseous
d) any

5. What stones are called precious?
a) emerald, ruby, sapphire, pearl, amber
b) turquoise, garnet, amethyst, coral
c) rock crystal, emerald, yahont

6. What is the significance of blood for a person?
a) helps to see the cut
b) carries air and nutrients to all organs of the body
c) helps in the treatment of diseases
d) maintain the vertical position of the body

7. What happens to food in the stomach?
a) chewing food
b) digestion
c) mixing with gastric juice

8. How to check if the heart of an unconscious person is beating?
a) according to the pulse of the carotid artery
b) put the ear to the chest
c) breathing

9. What information must be on the packaging of a product that can be bought in a store?
a) weight and composition of the product
b) method of preparation and date of manufacture
c) name, expiration date, ingredients

10. Why do you need to know your body?
a) to maintain and improve their health
b) so that a person can think, speak, work
c) to skillfully use their abilities

At the end of grade 4, students may be offered the following environmental test No. 5

1.What is ecology?

A) weather science

B) the science of wildlife

C) the science of the relationship between living beings and their environment, between man and nature

2.What is the environment?

A) everything that surrounds a person

B) the science of wildlife

C) the place where the person lives

3. What is a reserve?

A) an area where rare species of animals and plants are bred

B) plots of land where all nature is under special protection

C) plots of land where animals are fed

4. What is a national park?

A) an open-air natural museum that tourists can visit

B) an area where rare species of animals and plants are bred

C) a place where people rest

5. What is environmental safety?

A) protection of animals and plants from poachers

B) protection of air from pollution

C) protection from the harmful effects of a polluted, spoiled environment

6. Which of the following human actions relate to measures to protect nature

A) planting forests, cutting down old and diseased trees

B) discharge of sewage into the river

C) creation of farms, poultry farms

D) construction of treatment facilities

D) creation of reserves, botanical gardens

E) logging

7. What is the Red Book?

A) a book where extinct animals and plants are listed

B) a book that contains information about rare, endangered plants and animals

C) a book that records the plants and animals that were saved

8. Is there a Red Book of the Sverdlovsk Region?

B) don't know

9. During sanitary deforestation, old hollow trees were cut down. The forest began to wither. Why?

A) birds have nowhere to live

B) there were no birds, many insects appeared

10. Read the story of schoolchildren about your campaign. Find and underline the mistakes in their behavior.

« Our teacher fell ill and we decided to go to the forest without her. We safely reached the forest by train. Walking along the path, we met many inedible mushrooms and knocked them down with sticks so that someone would not get poisoned. It was hot in the forest. We lit a fire and warmed tea. How nice it was to look at the fire. After eating, we went home. Leaving, we looked back at the clearing where we made a halt, there were plastic bags and cans, and the fire winked cheerfully at parting. On the way to the train, we found a hedgehog and took him home"

Read the question carefully and choose the correct answer.
There may be one or more correct answers. Underline the selected answers.
For example:
What animals are carnivores?
a) hare
b) fox
c) deer

1. What do they mean when they say that it is warm, hot, cold outside?
a) precipitation
b) wind
c) cloudy
d) air temperature

2. What animals are called domestic?
a) all animals that live near humans
b) animals that a person breeds and uses for his own needs
c) all animals from which a person receives food

3. What is made by human hands?
a) clouds
b) spaceship
c) a table
d) grass
e) sparrow
f) Sun

4. How to finish a sentence correctly? “Coniferous plants differ from deciduous ones in that...”
a) always higher than deciduous
b) grow only in the forest
c) do not have leaves
d) have needle leaves

5. What birds of the Urals are sedentary?
a) dove
b) sparrow
c) swift
d) starling

6. What plants have several lignified stems?
a) trees
b) bushes
c) herbs

7. How to correctly settle plants on the floors of the forest?
a) mountain ash - birch - moss - lily of the valley
b) birch - mountain ash - lily of the valley - moss
c) birch - moss - mountain ash - lily of the valley

8. What is the correct food chain?
a) jay - acorns - hawk
b) oak acorns - hawk-jay
c) oak acorns - jay - hawk

9. What will you do if you see a tree from which juice flows?
a) pass by
b) close the wound with clay
c) drink juice and move on.

10. What word is superfluous?
a) ice drift
b) the weather
c) flood
d) river

1. What is the name of the science of mushrooms?

A) mycology

B) ornithology

B) entomology

2. Name the squirrel's home

B) lair

3. What bird breeds chicks in winter?

A) tit

4. Fish that spawns in cold weather

5. What is the name of a sheet with one sheet plate?

A) simple

B) complex

6. Penguin is…

A) a mammal

7. What tree leaf is depicted on the flag of Canada?

B) birch

8. Can I touch bird eggs?

9. What tree indicates the proximity of water?

10. What to do with the garbage in the forest?

A) bury

B) leave

B) take it with you

OLYMPIAD ON ECOLOGY IN 4 CLASS

1. What science studies the interaction of plant and animal communities with each other and with the environment? ( Ecology: "eco" - house, dwelling, "logos" - teaching. Ecology studies ecological systems.) 2. Why doesn't the Earth run out of oxygen? ( Thanks to plants. All oxygen on Earth was formed as a result of photosynthesis, which occurs in plants. All plants on our planet release 400 billion tons of oxygen into the atmosphere per year, and absorb 600 billion tons of carbon dioxide at the same time..) 3. Why are aquatic plants useful? ( Aquatic plants release oxygen necessary for breathing, purify water from pollution. In addition, aquatic plants serve as food and shelter for some animals.) 4. How is a ravine formed? ( Water erodes the earth, forming potholes. A pothole not fastened by the roots of plants is easily washed away by water, deepens, expands, turns into a ravine. Smaller ones branch off from the large ravine. The whole area is cut by them.) 5. What harm do ravines bring to people? ( Ravines destroy fertile lands. In this way they bring great harm to the national economy. Therefore, people are fighting against ravines.) 6. How do people deal with ravines? ( Along the edges of the ravines, trees and shrubs are planted, the root system of which prevents the destruction of the surface layer of the earth; dams are built to hold back the flow of water. The land near the ravines is plowed only across the slopes, so that the water does not flow down the furrows into the ravine and does not erode its slopes.) 7. How can children help adults in the fight against ravines? ( Take care of plantings on the slopes of ravines, protect plants from destruction.) 8. What are the water protection laws that all citizens must comply with? ( It is necessary to protect water bodies from pollution and poisoning; use water sparingly, do not leave taps open, monitor the safety of water pipes, wells, springs. We need to build sewage treatment plants.) 9. What rules of behavior for children on water bodies do you know? ( In winter, the reservoirs are covered with ice. But polynyas remain on many rivers for a long time. These areas are very dangerous when crossing ice. Don't go out on the ice. Do not rush to skate on ice. Spring ice is very deceptive - it is porous, fragile. It is extremely dangerous to cross a reservoir on spring ice. In summer, you can only swim in a designated area under adult supervision. “If you don’t know the ford, don’t poke your head into the water.”) 10. What benefits does the forest bring to people? ( The forest gives wood. Game animals and birds live in the forest, mushrooms and berries, fruit trees grow. The forest helps to retain moisture in the soil, maintains the full flow of rivers, protects the soil from destruction, purifies the air, and decorates the earth.) 11. What are the benefits of birds? ( Birds eat insects that harm plants; with their singing, they enliven forests, parks, create a unique charm, so necessary for people to relax.) 12. How should a person behave in the forest? ( Do not make noise, do not frighten animals, do not destroy anthills, bird nests, do not break tree branches, do not pluck rare plants; do not kick mushrooms, even inedible ones, carefully collect edible mushrooms without disturbing the mycelium, etc.) 13. What participation in forest protection can schoolchildren take? ( Protect the forest from fires, collect tree seeds, take care of seedlings in forest plantations.) 14. What can schoolchildren do to protect nature? ( Plant trees and shrubs, grow flowers, protect green spaces. Build birdhouses in spring; in winter - feeders and feed the birds. Make sure that no one destroys bird nests, breaks branches, tramples grass in parks, or plays with fire in the forest.) 15. What advice would you give to campers? ( You can not touch and take home forest birds and animals, take eggs from nests, destroy anthills, disturb animals; gotta take out the trash.

To calculate your impact on the planet, go to the online calculator: http://www.wwf.ru/footprint/calculator

Ecological footprint: resource calculator for your needs
01.04.2011 12:43 |

If you want to know what your personal Ecological Footprint is, answer the quiz questions.

To calculate your Ecological Footprint, you need to select the statement that matches your lifestyle and add/subtract the number of points shown to the right. By summing up the scores, you get the Ecological Footprint.

1.1. The area of ​​​​your housing allows you to keep a cat, but a dog of normal size would be cramped +7

1.2. Large, spacious apartment +12

1.3. Cottage for two families +23

Divide the points for the first question by the number of people who live in your apartment or in your house.

2. Energy use

2.1. Oil, natural gas or coal is used to heat your home +45

2.2. Water, solar or wind energy is used to heat your home +2

2.3. Most of us get our electricity from fossil fuels, so give yourself +75

2.4 The heating of your home is designed so that you can regulate it depending on the weather -10

2.5. At home you are warmly dressed, and at night you cover yourself with two blankets -5

2.6. When you leave a room, you always turn off the light in it -10

2.7. You always turn off your household appliances without leaving them in standby mode -10

3. Transport

3.1. Go to work by public transport +25

3.2. You go to work on foot or by bike +3

3.3. You drive an ordinary car +45

3.4. You are using a large and powerful vehicle with four-wheel drive +75

3.5. On your last vacation you flew +85

3.6. On vacation you traveled by train, and the journey took up to 12 hours +10

3.7. On vacation you traveled by train, and the journey took more than 12 hours +20

4. Nutrition

4.1. In a grocery store or market, you buy mainly fresh products (bread, fruits, vegetables, fish, meat) of local production, from which you cook dinner yourself +2

4.2. You prefer already processed foods, semi-finished products, freshly frozen ready-made meals that only need to be warmed up, as well as canned food, and do not look at where they are produced +14

4.3. You mostly buy ready-to-eat or almost ready-to-eat foods, but make sure they are produced closer to home +5

4.4. You eat meat 2-3 times a week +50

4.5. You eat meat three times a day +85

4.6. Prefer vegetarian food +30

5. Use of water and paper

5.1. Do you take a bath daily +14

5.2. You take a bath once or twice a week +2

5.3. Instead of a bath, you take a daily shower +4

5.4. From time to time you water your garden or wash your car with a hose +4

5.6. Sometimes you borrow books from the library or borrow from friends -1

5.7. After reading a newspaper, you throw it away +10

5 8 Newspapers you subscribe or buy are read by someone else after you +5

6. Household waste

6.1. We all create a lot of garbage and garbage, so add yourself: +100

6.2. Over the past month, have you ever handed over bottles of -15

6.3. throwing out the garbage, you put waste paper in a separate container -17

6.4. You hand over empty cans of drinks and canned food -10

6.5. You throw away plastic packaging in a separate container -8

6.6. You try to buy mostly not packaged, but loose goods; use the packaging received in the store on the farm -15

6.7. You make compost from household waste to fertilize your yard -5

If you live in a city with a population of half a million or more, multiply your total by 2.

Summing up:

Divide the result by one hundred and you will find out how many hectares of the earth's surface are needed to satisfy all your needs, and how many planets would be needed if all people lived like you!

For all of us to have enough of one planet, 1 person should have no more than 1.8 hectares of productive land.

For comparison, the average US citizen uses 12.2 hectares (5.3 planets!), the average European - 5.7 hectares (2.8 planets), and the average Mozambican - only 0.7 hectares (0.4 planets).

The average inhabitant of Russia uses 4.4 hectares (2.5 planets).

And I got 1.8 (The Earth loves me ....)

Greetings, dear readers and guests of my blog!

I want to devote my new article to the problem of nature conservation and tell you about such an indicator as the human ecological footprint. Do you know what it is?

What is the human ecological footprint

The human ecological footprint is the size of the natural area (area) that is required to reproduce all the resources consumed by humans and absorb the waste generated.

Over the past 50 years, humans have been consuming far more natural resources than the planet can regenerate. Today we consume 50% more than our biosphere is able to replenish!

In order to meet all of our yearly needs, 1.5 planet Earth is already required, and if our appetites continue to grow, then by 2050 we will need 3 such planets Earth! At the same time, if every inhabitant of the planet lives like an average Russian, then 3.3 planets will be required already now!

In addition to the fact that our appetites are growing, the number of inhabitants of the planet is also growing! If in 1800 the number of inhabitants was approximately one billion, then by 2015 the number reached 7.5 billion. According to UN forecasts, by 2050 there will be about 10 billion people on Earth. And those resources that were provided for us by the planet for a year, we spend much faster.

This phenomenon has been called “Green Debt Day”. Now I will explain what it is: this is the day of the calendar when we spend all the resources given to us by the planet for a year. In 2017, this day was August 2, and in 2018 it is August 1. It turns out that since the beginning of August, having spent all the resources, we live on the planet in debt!

The Global Footprint Network (GFN) is a research institute with branches in North America, Europe and Asia. In Russia, the calculation is carried out jointly with WWF. On the WWF website you can go

The unit of measurement of this indicator: "Global hectare" is a conventional unit, which is equal to a hectare of a natural area with an average global ability to reproduce natural resources.

• Arable land for agricultural products.
• Pastures for meat production.
• Scaffolding, for timber and paper.
• Built-up lands.
• Marine bioresources necessary for obtaining fish and seafood.
• Carbon footprint. This is the area of ​​land (mainly forests and oceans) that is needed to dissolve or sequester CO2 emissions. Today it is the main type of waste.

How we affect the ecological footprint

About 70% of the ecological footprint is the result of ordinary, everyday life of people. Not so long ago, a loincloth and a pointed stick were enough for people, but now everything has changed very dramatically. Of course, people in different countries influence this indicator in different ways, the more developed the country, the higher the influence.

Here is a list of how much a resident of a European country consumes on average in his entire life (for calculation, they took the average life expectancy for this region: 78 years.) Just look at these figures! They don't even fit in my head!

Index	Quantity
Milk	9064 liters.
Diapers	3800 pcs.
cows	4 things.
Sheep	21 pcs.
Pigs	15 pcs.
chickens	1200 pieces (or even more)
Eggs	13345 pcs.
Bread	4283 loaves.
Apples	5270 pcs.
Carrot	10866 pcs.
chocolates	10000 pcs.
Toilet paper	4230 rolls.
Soap	656 pieces.
Shampoo	198 bottles.
Deodorant	272 pcs.
Toothpaste	276 tubes.
Toothbrushes	78 pcs.
Creams (for skin care)	411 pcs.
Perfume	37 vials.
Nail polish	28 pcs.
Pomade	21 pcs.
Tampons and pads	11000 pcs.
Washing machines	3 pcs.
Refrigerators	3.4 pcs.
Microwaves	3.2 pcs.
TVs	4.8 pcs.
Computers and laptops	15 pcs.

In addition to the needs presented above, here is another trace a person leaves:

• 7163 washes (this is about 1 ml liters of water)
• Throws out 8.5 tons of packaging.
• Throws out 40 tons of waste.
• 2865 kg. excretes feces.
• 35815 l. releases gases.
• Washes hair 11500 times.
• 4230 sex times.
• 2944 times watching TV. Imagine, it's about 8 years old!
• Reads 533 books. (Unless, of course, he reads them, it has been calculated that 40% of all people do not open books at all)
• Reads 2455 newspapers.
• 24 trees go to all the books and newspapers that a person will read.
• 74802 cups of tea drinks.
• Takes 30,000 tablets.

Imagine, friends, what grandiose figures are obtained for the entire human life! This is how we act on planet Earth, this is the ecological footprint of each person, and because he does not give anything in return!

And behind each such figure are hidden very serious consequences.

Here are diapers! It is very convenient, no doubt! But imagine, it serves only a few hours, and then goes to the trash! A huge amount of resources is spent on their production. And the plastics used to make it can take up to 500 years to decompose! And therefore, the children of developed countries by their 2.5 years are more responsible for the emission of carbon dioxide than, for example, a Tanzanian in his entire life!!!

And in order to produce one computer, 240 kg is needed. fuel, 22 kg. other chemicals and 1.5 tons of water! How many computers are there in the world now? Those are just huge numbers! Mind unbelievable!

And when you, for example, buy a cup of coffee on the street, be aware that for the production of 200 gr. drink, 200 liters of water are required! Water is needed to grow and produce coffee beans, and to produce milk, and to produce a cup!

Russia is one of the largest consumers of imported beef in the world, mainly imported from South America. Every day, (Can you imagine? That is, every day!!!) in Paraguay alone, 1,400 hectares are destroyed. rainforests, in order to increase the area of ​​​​pastures and soybean crops for livestock feed!

Another very popular product in recent times is palm oil, which is used in cosmetics and food products. Malaysia and Indonesia today produce 87% of all palm oil, the remaining 13% are African countries. Tropical deforestation on the island of Borneo (Malaysia's largest island) is taking place just to expand oil palm plantations.

But in the rainforests of the island of Borneo is the largest number of animal and plant species on Earth. And if deforestation continues in the same volume as now, then in 10 years these forests will be completely destroyed. Sad, isn't it?

About 68% of Russia's Ecological Footprint is CO 2 emissions. Imagine! Just one passenger on a Moscow-New York flight produces so much CO 2 that 4 trees should compensate for the damage caused to nature for a hundred years!

How to reduce your ecological footprint

Responsible resource consumption can help reduce our footprint and save our planet.
Here are some principles to help reduce our impact on nature:

• Try to travel by train instead of flying.
• Use public transport, bike or walk instead of driving your own car.
• Give preference to local and seasonal produce. Products brought from afar, due to long transportation, also damage nature.
• Make a shopping list in advance and buy only the products you need, 1/3 of all the products in the world are simply thrown away! This is while 800 million people on the planet are chronically malnourished.
• Do not throw away good things, even if you do not need them, most likely they will be very useful to someone. Give them away, donate them, sell them.
• Save water and electricity, it will benefit not only nature, but also your wallet! Turn off the faucet when you brush your teeth and take a shower instead of a bath. Turn off all devices, do not leave them in standby mode!
• Choose products with minimal packaging.
• Save paper. Print only what you need.
• Use a bag instead of disposable bags.

These, my friends, are simple principles, but they can improve the situation on the planet in many ways.

We have changed the planet a lot, maybe it's time to change ourselves? As long as there's anything left of her!

2.10.2017 article

“Our planet is not made of rubber!” - this is a funny statement at least once in a lifetime each of us had to hear. And meanwhile, despite the comic, this phrase has a much deeper meaning than it might seem at first glance.

The biological capacity of the environment or how many of us are there per square meter?

It's no secret that the density of population in any area is directly related to the level of comfort of this population. For example, in densely populated cities we feel tired from a large number of people around us, and when we arrive in a village where the inhabitants are two old women and a dozen geese, we exclaim: what grace!

This happens because a person, being essentially the same biological species as millions of others, subconsciously feels the direct dependence of his well-being on the load on his environment.

The formula is extremely simple: the more people around us and the denser the crowd, the less our chances of getting the maximum of all kinds of benefits from life.

Thus, with increasing population density, the quality of life of each member of society gradually decreases and, to everyone's disappointment, one day turns into anything but quality. That is, living conditions become unacceptable for a normal comfortable existence.

This law applies not only to the human race, but to any biological species, to any population. And the limiting load exerted by a population on a habitat is the number of individuals that can coexist in a given environment without loss of quality of life. This load is called the capacity of the environment, that is, the density of the population that this environment is able to provide with all the vital conditions.

In the case of humans, the list of indispensable goods includes not only food and shelter, but also medical care and the ability to maintain an adequate level of hygiene.

Ecological capacity of the environment

For the well-being of the population, not only the ability of the environment to support a certain number of individuals is of paramount importance, but also its ability to withstand harmful chemical influences and other anthropogenic pressures without irreversible consequences in the form of soil degradation or destruction of ecosystems.

The ecological capacity of the environment means its ability to self-heal within certain limits.

Simply put, the ecological capacity of the environment means its ability to self-heal within certain limits.

Careful study of the issue of the environmental capacity of the environment allows you to set strict limits on the consumption of natural resources, avoiding a load that exceeds the capabilities of the environment.

However, it is always much easier to make calculations than to put them into practice. That is why in many countries of the world the load on the environment is strictly regulated by law.

Ecological footprint

The concept of an ecological footprint is closely related to the capacity of the environment, and this is quite logical: where we are, there is a footprint. But what is an ecological footprint? Is this footprint really something to be proud of?

The expression "ecological footprint" refers to the degree of influence exerted by a person on his environment, that is, the level of consumption of natural resources that the biosphere has. This includes any human impact on nature, starting from his birth: from the amount of food eaten and oxygen consumed to the piles of garbage thrown out over a lifetime and the number of liters of fuel burned while using transport.

carbon footprint

The impact that humans have on the environment is extremely diverse. It can include things that are specific to certain regions (such as using wood to heat a home) or certain peoples (such as eating a lot of seafood).

A medium-sized passenger car emits an amount of carbon dioxide equal to its weight, that is, about 1.5 tons, into the atmosphere per year.

However, there is a sphere of influence exerted on the environment by every inhabitant of the planet without exception: the consumption of oxygen and the emission of CO 2 into the atmosphere. In this case, we are talking not only about breathing, but, first of all, about the consequences of the operation of transport and power plants, industrial enterprises designed to ensure a decent existence for humanity.

Thus, the concept of "carbon footprint" refers to the area of ​​land planted with forests, necessary to assimilate all the carbon dioxide emissions produced by the inhabitants of the planet. And the size of these emissions is increasing in scale every year.

water footprint

Drawing an elementary analogy with the carbon footprint, it is easy to understand what a water footprint is: it is the volume of water consumption necessary for the implementation of a particular human activity - from elementary hygiene procedures to the production of aircraft.

Global Ecological Footprint

The term "global" comes from the word "globe", emphasizing its comprehensive, global meaning. Thus, it is easy to guess that when it comes to the global ecological footprint, it means the impact on the planet that all of humanity as a whole has - huge, staggering numbers ...

Why do we need to calculate the global ecological footprint and the footprint left on the planet by individual nations and large industrial companies? The answer is obvious: these data are extremely important in developing such a strategy for the activities of companies that will exclude irreparable harm to the Earth's ecology.

On the one hand, the life of human society cannot be imagined without the existence of millions of industrial enterprises, transport companies and power plants. On the other hand, they are the ones that cause the greatest harm to the environment, and this obliges business leaders to take active steps towards studying the ecological footprint of companies and providing this information to the general public. In addition, it is business, oddly enough, that is the driving force that can correct the current environmental situation.

Ecological footprint calculation

Ecological footprint calculations are carried out by an international research institute called the Global Footprint Network (GFN), with branches in Europe, Asia and North America. The work of the institute, carried out in conjunction with WWF (World Wildlife Fund), allows you to find out the ecological footprint of not only cities or enterprises, but also entire countries or each individual. Anyone can calculate their ecological footprint today using the calculator on the WWF website.

Measuring the Ecological Footprint and Environmental Capacity

The unit of measurement of the ecological footprint, like the capacity of the environment, is global hectares (gha) - units of area that indicate the size of the territory required to meet the needs of a single person or an entire group.

It should be noted that the ecological footprint of each individual person is significantly different from that which our planet can provide us, that is, its biocapacity. For example, according to statistics, back in 2005, the ecological footprint of a person was equal to 2.7 hectares, but the Earth was able to provide each of us with only two hectares with a small tail.

Even then, we exceeded the capabilities of our planet, creating an unbearable burden for it. To date, the calculations of environmentalists confirm that to replenish the resources used by mankind, there is not enough very little - another half of the planet Earth. That is, the ecological footprint of mankind has grown so much that the entire territory of the planet is not enough to meet our needs. Mankind is faced with the most difficult problem: the discrepancy between the global ecological footprint and the biological and ecological capacity of the environment.

Heirs of the planet: how much have you personally inherited here?

The habit of shifting responsibility for the ecological state of the planet to large enterprises gives us a false idea of ​​​​the importance of the ecological footprint of an ordinary person. But in fact, you will be amazed to know that the result of people's normal daily life (the household) accounts for 68% of the global ecological footprint. After all, all products manufactured by enterprises that we used to blame for polluting the environment are produced for the needs of ordinary people.

According to statistics, the water footprint of one cup of black coffee is 140 liters. This is how much water is required to grow, collect, process, pack and transport a handful of coffee powder. A kilogram of sugar has a footprint of 1500 liters, while a standard loaf of bread has 650 liters.

The importance of a single person's global footprint is excellently illustrated in films created by the National Geographic Channel.

Why do we need to know this?

He who is warned is armed - the wise man once said and hit the mark. Knowing what kind of footprint we leave on this earth, each of us can, to the best of our ability, influence the scale of this footprint. At the same time, literally every little thing matters: how economically you use water, whether your car's engine is working, and in what packaging you prefer to buy products.

Even refusing to buy bottled water can bring huge benefits, not to mention the proper disposal of garbage, avoiding the use of disposable items such as plastic bags and utensils, and at least partially switching to reusable baby diapers.

According to statistics, 1 child in the first couple of years of his life uses 2.5 tons of disposable diapers, which will take years to decompose. Growing up, babies will be doomed to live on a land poisoned by the contents of millions of rotting diapers in landfills.

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