Eco Project

Name: _______________________________ Slot: _______
Ecological Footprint Project

Due: May 9
th
, 2014

For this project, you will be collecting data about your/your familys consumption of resources. For
some of your data, you must monitor certain habits for seven consecutive days. To get other required
data, you are going to need the help of your parents. (I have already let your parent(s) know this.)

Water Consumption

1. Ask your parents for your most recent water bill. The bottom of the water bill (as illustrated on
the sample water bill posted on-line) should have a bar graph that shows you how many gallons
of water your family consumed each month for the past 12 months.

January: _____________________
February: _____________________
March: _____________________
April: _____________________
May: _____________________
June: _____________________
July: _____________________
August: _____________________
September: _____________________
October: _____________________
November: _____________________
December: _____________________

If your bill does not have a bar graph that shows water consumption for the past 12 months, record how
many gallons of water were used from your familys most recent water bill. _____________________

General Water Consumption Questions

Circle yes or no for the questions below.

1. Do you leave the water running when you wash dishes? Yes No
2. Do you leave the water running when you brush your teeth? Yes No
3. Do you water your lawn on a regular basis during the spring/summer/fall? Yes No
4. Do you have low flush toilets in your home? Yes No

Active Water Consumption Monitoring
How long do you bathe/shower? For seven consecutive days, you must record how long you shower.

Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Shower
time (min)*

*If you take a bath instead of a shower, for shower time write in bath and fill in the data below.

If you take a bath instead of a shower, you must measure the dimensions of your bathtub (length, width
and height) to calculate the volume of the tub. Then measure how far the water level is from the top of
the tub. You will use this data to calculate the volume of water in your bathtub.

Bathtub dimensions

Length = ______________
Width = ______________
Height = ______________

On average, how far is the water level from the top of the tub? ______________

Volume of water in bathtub = ______________

Record how many times you flush the toilet each day for seven days.
Day 1 2 3 4 5 6 7
# of
Flushes

Energy Consumption

Household Consumption
1. Ask your parents for your most recent electric bill. The bottom of the electric bill (as illustrated
on the sample electric bill posted on-line) should have a bar graph that shows you how many
kilowatt-hours of electric energy your family consumed each month for the past 12 months.

January: _____________________
February: _____________________
March: _____________________
April: _____________________
May: _____________________
June: _____________________
July: _____________________
August: _____________________
September: _____________________
October: _____________________
November: _____________________
December: _____________________

If your bill does not have a bar graph that shows electric energy consumption for the past 12 months,
just record how many kilowatt-hours of electric energy were used from your familys most recent
electric bill. _____________________

2. What type of heating system does your home use (oil, natural gas, electric or propane)?
_______________
3. What type of stove does your home have (oil, natural gas, electric or propane)? ______________

Gasoline Consumption
You will monitor how much gasoline your family uses in a week. Ask your parents for help to fill in the
table below. If your family uses more than one car, you must complete the table for each car.

Weekly Gasoline Consumption
Car 1 Car 2 Car 3 Car 4
Day 1: Starting
mileage on
odometer

Day 7: Final
mileage on
odometer

Total Miles driven
(Final odometer
reading Starting
odometer reading)

Miles/gallon the
car gets

Gallons of
gasoline
consumed*

*To calculate this number, divide the total miles driven by the miles/gallon your car(s) get(s). For
example, if you drove 100 miles and your car gets 25 miles to the gallon: 100 miles (25 miles/gallon)
= 4 gallons

Space Consumption
Record the total square footage of your home. (This is includes your home and the property on which
your house is located.) __________________ square feet

Goods Consumption
Hard Goods
Goods will require that you estimate the weight of materials that you buy over an average period of a
month. These are NOT the total amount of things that you own. Let's take clothing as an example to
explore one way of measuring goods. Say you buy one pair of pants, two shirts, and a pair of shoes
every year. You should estimate the weight of all of these items and then divide this total weight by 12
to determine an average monthly weight. Note that we did not consider the pile of clothing sitting in
your closet that you already own. That is the culmination of many years of consumption. We are
interested only in your current rate of consumption, not the total accumulated amount of material.

Estimated average monthly weight of goods purchased/consumed: _____________________
Food Consumption
For seven days you will be required to record information about your eating patterns. Fill in the chart
below to monitor your food intake. For each day answer a simple yes or no for each question.

Day #
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Breakfast

Did you eat
fruit/veggies?

Did you eat
meat?

Did you eat
seafood?

Did you eat
grains?

Did you eat
dairy?

Lunch

Did you eat
fruit/veggies?

Did you eat
meat?

Did you eat
seafood?

Did you eat
grains?

Did you eat
dairy?

Dinner

Did you eat
fruit/veggies?

Did you eat
meat?

Did you eat
seafood?

Did you eat
grains?

Did you eat
dairy?

Snack(s)

Did you eat
fruit/veggies?

Did you eat
meat?

Did you eat
grains?

Did you eat
dairy?

Did you eat any
candy?

Use your data table to answer the following questions:

1. Approximately how many times during the week did you eat meat? ____________
2. Approximately how many times during the week did you eat seafood? ____________
3. Approximately how many times during the week did you eat dairy? ____________
4. Approximately how many times during the week did you eat grains? ____________
5. Approximately how many times during the week did you eat candy? ____________
Waste Production

Estimate the volume of trash you produce. You can do this by counting the number of trash cans in your
home and measuring the dimensions (length, width, and height) of each trashcan (or by looking on the
bottom of the trashcan to see if it states its capacity.) Record how often you empty the trash. Or you can
record the volume of trash you put on the curb every week for trash collection.

Trashcan
#
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Volume of
Trashcan

# of Times
Trashcan
emptied/wk.

Estimate the volume of recycling you produce. You can do this by counting the number of recycling
bins in your home and measuring the dimensions of each recycling bin. Record how often you empty
your recycling bins. Or you can record the volume of recycling you put on the curb every week for trash
collection.
Recycling
Bin #
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
Volume of
Recycling
Bin

# of Times
Recycling
Bin
emptied/wk.

Estimate what percentage of your recycling is:

Paper = ______________ % Metal = ______________ %
Plastic = ______________ % Glass = ______________ %

Ecological Footprint Analysis Questions
*For all questions that require math, you must show your work!

1. What percentage of the Earths population live in developing countries?
85.4% According to the Human Development Index

Water Analysis

1. How many gallons of water has your family used in the past year? 165,000 Gallons

2. How many gallons of water did your family use PER PERSON in the past year?
165,00/4 = 41,250 Gallons

3. What month did your family use the most water? How much did you use during that month?
Why do you think you used the most during that month?

August was the month that my family used the most amount of water, being 28,400 gallons. I think
we used the most in this month because it was the last month of summer. This is the month that we
were here the most in summer, and almost every day, the plants were watered and the sprinklers
were out. We were also drinking more fluids because of the heat. This, in turn, makes us need to
go to the bathroom more, and flush the toilets more. This then makes us wash our hands more.

4. Research and record the water consumption per household and the number of people living in
each household from three different nations. One country must be in Africa, one must be in Asia
and the other will be your global country. You will need to do research to answer these
questions. You must site your sources using APA.

Per day for gallons per person?
Developing African Country Name: Ethiopia
Gallons of water per year: 100,443,089,655
Average number of people per household: 5
Gallons of water per person: 3-4 Gallons

Developing Asian Country Name: Pakistan
Gallons of water per year: 215,040,010
Average number of people per household: 8
Gallons of water per person: 20 25 Gallons

Your global country: Syria
Gallons of water per year: 98,112,000
Average number of people per household: 3 - 4
Gallons of water per person: 10 - 14 Gallons

5. How does the consumption of water per person in your household differ from that of people in
Africa? Asia? Your global country?

Pakistan has the highest gallons per year, mainly because of their larger population and larger
gallons per day than the other countries. Ethiopia had a little bit more gallons per year than Syria
because of its much bigger population. All three of these countries differ strongly from my
familys household water usage. By dividing our yearly water usage per person by 365, I see that
each person in my house uses 113 gallons per day on average. I find this shocking, as Ethiopia
lives on 3 4 gallons a day, while we are living extremely comfortably at 113 gallons a day.
Energy (Electrical/Gasoline) Analysis

Electrical
1. What is a kilowatt-hour?
A kilowatt-hour is a measure of electrical energy equivalent to a power consumption of
1,000 watts for 1 hour.

2. How many kilowatt-hours of electricity has your family used in the past year?
20,144 KWH

3. How many kilowatt-hours of electricity did your family use PER PERSON in the past year?
5,036 KWH

4. What month did your family use the most electricity? How much did you use during that month?
Why do you think you used the most during that month?

The most amount of electricity according to the electric bill was used in the month of February;
however, the months of December and January were estimated and not actually recorded. So I
believe the electric company estimated much lower than they should have for December and
January. We used 2,700 kilowatt-hours of electricity during this month. Although this was
unexpected, I think there are many factors that influenced this. Christmas lights were still up, we
were in the house for almost all of the month, and since the outside gets darker faster in the
winter, indoor lights were on more.

5. What are the major appliances/activities that power is used for in your home?

The major appliances used for power are the lights, television, chargers, and desktop computers.
The largest home necessities that uses electricity are the AC system, and part of the heating
system.

6. What appliances/activities, if any, are used in a typical home for the developing country you
researched in Africa? In Asia? In your global country?
Ethiopia In most parts of this country, most houses have no appliances, or even running
water.
Pakistan About 60% of Pakistani people live in villages, with the rest living in somewhat
nicer city homes. These city homes generally have a TV, electric fans and heaters, and
lights.
Syria -

Gasoline

Do most households own a car? No If so, how many? ________
Do most households own a scooter? No If so, how many? ________
What does this indicate about their consumption of gasoline?
It indicates that is very low.

It indicates that it too is very low.

Your Global Country Name: Pakistan
That it is low, just like the latter countries.

Space Analysis
6. What is the approximate square footage of your home. (This is includes your home and the
property on which your house is located. This data can be found on-line on the website Trulia.)
17,000 Square feet

7. How many people live in your household?
4 People

8. How many square feet PER PERSON does each member of your household have?
4250 Square feet each

9. Research the number of people living in each household from three different nations. One
country must be in Africa, one must be in Asia and one must be your global country. You will
need to do research to answer these questions. You must site your sources using APA.

Number of people per household: 5


Your Global Country Name: Syria

10. Attach a picture of a typical home for each country you researched.

Top Left-
Pakistan

Top Right-
Ethiopia

Bottom-
Syria
11. Research and record the average daily wage (in US dollars) for a person in three countries. One
country must be in Africa, one must be in Asia and one must be your global country. Use this
information to calculate the yearly wage of an average person in each country. You must site
your sources using APA.

Average Daily Wage: $0.77 USD
Average Yearly Wage: $276 USD

Average Yearly Wage: $3,060 USD

Average Yearly Wage: $3,480 USD

12. What does it mean to live below the poverty line in the US? Globally?

US: The poverty line is $22,350 for a family of four, $18,530 for a family of three,
$14,710 for a family of two and $10,890 for one person, according to the Department
of Health and Human Services.
Globally: The new poverty line of $1.25 a day was recently announced by the World
Bank (in 2008).

13. How do you think the square footage per person in your household compares to that of people in
Africa? Asia? Your global project country?

I think that my house would be considerably larger than the countries I am researching judging
by the pictures. Ethiopia would have the smallest square footage, then Syria, then Pakistan, then
my house.

Goods (Food) Analysis

Research the daily diet of an average person from three different nations. One country must be in Africa,
one must be in Asia and one must be your global country. You will need to do research to answer these
questions. You must site your sources using APA.


Does this diet include the regular (daily basis) consumption of meat? Yes

Dairy? No


Does this diet include the regular (daily basis) consumption of meat? Yes
Dairy? Yes


Does this diet include the regular (daily basis) consumption of meat? No

Dairy? No

1. Do you eat meat on a regular basis (Three or more times per week)? Yes

2. Do you eat dairy on a regular basis (Three of more times per week)? Yes

3. What takes up more of the Earths resources, producing meat and dairy or producing fruits,
vegetables, and grains? (You must research this question to answer it accurately. Cite your
sources using APA.) How would cutting out meat and dairy from a persons diet affect global
resources?

Producing meat and dairy takes up more of the earths resources. To quote TIME magazine "It's
true that giving up that average 176 lb. of meat a year is one of the greenest lifestyle
changes you can make as an individual." Also, based on a graph titled calories of fossil fuel
used to make 1 calorie of protein for various foods, it took 54 calories for meat, while it
only took 3 calories for wheat, corn and soybeans. According to a pro vegetarian website,
We put far more energy into animals per unit of food than we do for any plant crop. The
main reason is that cattle consume 16 times more grain than they produce as meat so right
there we have 16 times as much energy just to grow those crops, just so we can waste them
on livestock. Harvesting meat also takes up much more water. According to a graph on the
same website listed as before, beef takes 5,214 gallons of water to produce only 1 pound of
it, while most fruits and vegetables require only 20 40 gallons.

Why Going Meatless Saves the Planet. (2013). Want to save the environment? Go
vegetarian.. Retrieved May 10, 2014, from
http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/environment.html

Waste Analysis

1. Calculate the volume of trash your family produces per person per day.

45/7 = 6.43 gallons of trash

2. Calculate the volume of recycling your family produces per person per day.
15/7 = 2.14 gallons of recycling

Putting It All Together

1. Define ecological footprint.

Your ecological footprint is your personal effect on the environment. It is basically how you leave
your mark on the environment. To have a light ecological footprint you need to practice reusing
and recycling, and not litter, as well as cut down on necessities, like water and electricity. If you
have a heavy ecological footprint, you dont think about the environment in your actions.

2. How do you think your ecological footprint compares to the majority of people in the world?
Explain. Make sure you discuss your consumption of water, space, energy, food, and hard goods
as well as the amount of waste you produce. (I expect this to be detailed and thoughtful. That is
why you have an entire page to write about it.)

I think my ecological footprint is substantially higher than most people on the world.
To start off, According to todosomething.com a website about encouraging people to
make a positive impact in the world, Nearly 1/2 of the world's population more
than 3 billion people live on less than $2.50 a day. More than 1.3 billion live in
extreme poverty, that's less than $1.25 a day. With all of these people living on such
low wages, there is no way they can use more water, energy, space and food than I do.
In fact, not only does my family use more resources than all of these people living in
poverty, we also use more than the average of the world. According to water.usgs.gov,
the average daily water usage is about 80-100 gallons per person per day. According
to my water bill, every person in my house uses about 115 gallons each day. The
same can be said with space usage. According to shrinkthatfootprint.com, the
average home and land plot size in America is 2,163 square feet. My family and I live
in a home and plot of land of about 17,000. It should not be forgotten that America
also has one of the highest space usage averages in the world. Living in a 1
st
world
country in the suburbs of a wealthy town is also a big factor. We have easy access to
food and energy, and we practically never run out. The same cannot be said about
most people in the world, let alone the 3 billion people in the world that live on
under $2.50 a day. This makes me realize I should reduce my ecological footprint,
and I will strive to in the years to come.

3. List five things you and your family can and will try to do to reduce your ecological footprint.

a. We could turn off lights more often when we leave the house, as we tend to leave
them on a little too much. We leave them off a lot when we are out.

b. Instead of driving the car everywhere, we could work on cycling or walking to our
desired destination.

c. Buying energy saving appliances, like fluorescent light bulbs and a tankless water
heater, so our water will only be heated when we are using it.

d. Unplug our chargers when we are not using them, because plugged chargers that
arent even charging anything still sap energy from the outlet.

e. Set up a compost pile in our backyard and use that instead of just the trashcan.

List of References in APA Format

Accessories Lids for Polymer Waste Containers. (n.d.). Rev-A-Shelf. Retrieved May 11, 2014,
from http://www.rev-a-shelf.com/p-257-accessories-lids-for-polymer-waste-
containers.aspx
Demographics of Syria. (n.d.). Princeton University. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from
http://www.princeton.edu/~achaney/tmve/wiki100k/docs/Demographics_of_Syria.html
Ecological Footprint. (n.d.). Reduce your footprint: Quiz by Center for Sustainable Economy.
Retrieved May 11, 2014, from
http://www.myfootprint.org/en/take_action/reduce_your_footprint/
Ethiopia. (n.d.). Overview. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from
http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/ethiopia/overview
Poverty Facts and Stats. (n.d.). - Global Issues. Retrieved May 9, 2014, from
http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
Poverty Rate Rises to 15.1 Percent: What Does It Mean to Be Below the Poverty Line?. (n.d.).
International Business Times. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from
http://www.ibtimes.com/poverty-rate-rises-151-percent-what-does-it-mean-be-below-
poverty-line-312912
SYRIA: Why the water shortages?. (n.d.). IRINnews. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from
http://www.irinnews.org/report/88554/syria-why-the-water-shortages
TIME Magazine -- U.S. Edition -- March 10, 2014 Vol. 183 No. 9. (n.d.). Time. Retrieved May
10, 2014, from http://content.time.com/time/magazine/
Things are getting harder in Syria. But this is not Egypt'. (2011, February 14). theguardian.com.
Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://www.theguardian.com/world/2011/feb/14/syria-
young-people-unemployment
Water Conservation Pakistan. (n.d.). Water Conservation Pakistan. Retrieved May 11, 2014,
from http://www.slideshare.net/naeemqureshi/water-conservation-pakistan
Water Questions & AnswersHow much water does the average person use at home per day?.
(n.d.). Per capita water use. Water questions and answers; USGS Water Science
School. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-
percapita.html
Water Use. (n.d.). AMNH. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/past-
exhibitions/water-h2o-life/water-works/water-use
Water supply and sanitation in Ethiopia. (2014, July 5). Wikipedia. Retrieved May 11, 2014,
from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Water_supply_and_sanitation_in_Ethiopia
Water.org. (n.d.). Water. Retrieved May 11, 2014, from http://water.org/country/ethiopia/
Why Going Meatless Saves the Planet. (n.d.). Want to save the environment? Go vegetarian..
Retrieved May 10, 2014, from http://michaelbluejay.com/veg/environment.html

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