Country United States: Similar: Similar: Different: Different: Different: Per-capita Ecological Footprint Per-capita BioCapacity Natural Capital Deficit (-) or Surplus (+)
1. Let's take a brief look at ecological footprints on the national level. This is important, because each nation has different environmental policies and cultures. Do a comparison of your home country with others around the world using the instructions below. Use this Footprint of Nations website:
(http://data.footprintnetwork.org/#/)
Use the interactive map showing average ecological footprints for various countries. I recommend you choose the map option showing Ecological Deficit/Reserve. Once you have selected a country, a graph will appear showing the ecological footprint and biocapacity/ natural resource capacity of your selection. What you are determining is how much natural resource capital a nation has vs. how much it is using. List those values in the chart for the most recent year given. Be careful here: Because this is international information (metric system), the units of measure are in hectares, not acres! You can use either measurement but if you use acres you will have to convert the hectares into acres by multiplying by 2.5. (One hectare equals 2.5 acres.)
Compare the United States to two countries with similar standards of living (compare U.S./Canada to countries in Western Europe), and three countries with different standards of living (compare U.S./Canada to developing countries in South America, Africa, or Asia). List the ecological footprints (the
2. You can now appreciate the magnitude of difference between footprints of nations with different lifestyles. Note especially the magnitude of the deficit for the United States. Fueled with this knowledge, now answer the following question:
In today’s global economy, goods flow from one country to another like never before, allowing the natural capital from one country to be utilized in many other countries. Some have argued that it is unethical for developed countries to fuel their consumptive lifestyles by using natural capital from poorer, developing countries. Do you agree with this viewpoint? Why or why not? (50-100 words)
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