env4, Cedarbrae C.I, Canada Question:

What is your ecological footprint? From knowing this, what is your main carbon dioxide emission source? How can you reduce your footprint? Is there a government initiative to reduce this footprint? 

Answer from env1

ECOLOGICAL FOOTPRINT

This is the biospheres ability to regenerate resources and provide services that are demanded by the human the units for measuring ecological footprint is global hectares (gha). It can be used to argue that the current lifestyle is not sustainable. The wwf claims that the human footprint has exceeded the biocapacityof the people by 20%. The ecological footprint is used as and indicator for environmental sustainability.

MAIN CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSION SOURCE

In Kenya the main carbon dioxide source is the vehicle and the industries also burning of items which produce carbon dioxide ton the atmosphere. This occurs due  to the following reason the first reason is about the condition of vehicle on our roads is very poor thus is brought by lack of regular checking of the cars. The second reason is about the people who are in charge of the public cars. The leaders mismanage the public societies which encourage individuals to prefer operating on there on, thus increasing the rate of  personal cars which in turn  increase the rate of carbon dioxide being emitted in the air. The second reason is about the industries which are the second leading in emission the harmful gas.

WAYS ON HOW TO REDUCE OUR FOOTPRINT

Ecological footprint is divided into four categories ;food ,housing ,carbon and finally goods and services. Another category is the consumption divided into pastureland, forestland, marine fisheries..The ways on how to reduce this problems are as follows

By use of light means of transport for example use of motorbikes

This would reduce the amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the cars and therefore the less amount of carbon dioxide in the air the lower the ecological footprint

How you spend your holidays

 When one spends his holidays far away it would increase the ecological footprint because the resources used would take  long to regenerate

Use of renewable resources

The ministry of energy is encouraging the citizens to use electricity because it is renewable and non- pollutant it does this by rural electrification.

Recycling

The government has started projects that involve recycling of waste products to produce useful products and reduce the effects to the environment .e.g. making of charcoal from maize cobs and other house hold waste s.

Through Family Planning.

More people in a country would use a lot of resources compared to a country that has few people which would have a low carbon and ecological footprint because it would not take long   to regenerate the resources.

To calculate your footprint, visit ;    

http://www.ecologicalfootprint.com/

env1, Kenya, Chavakali High School

Answer from env2

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Answer from env3

Our ecological footprint is fairly large. Since we live in the world’s second largest country, we have a big impact in our environment. Canada makes up 1.80% of the global total in terms of annual CO2 emission releasing about 544 091 thousand of metric tonnes per year.  A majority of Canada’s CO2 emission comes from our main industrial cities such as Toronto who makes up a large portion of Canada’s population; also, from provinces such as Alberta who are known for producing oil.  These places cause Canada’s ecological footprint to become significantly larger, because a large portion of Canada’s land remains in its natural state.  The transportation in industrialized cities such as the wide usage of cars, trucks, and buses emits a large amount of CO2 per year.  As well as the factories in Canada who burn fossil fuels release a dangerous amount of carbon dioxide.  We can reduce our ecological footprint by limiting our transportation use by carpooling or using other environmentally friendly methods such as biking or walking.  As a country we can limit CO2 emission by reducing the amount of energy produced by burning fossil fuels.  Canada has been part of many global programs whose sole goal it is to reduce the world’s ecological footprint. One of these programs is Canada’s own Economic Action plan which was introduced in 2000. Another is the Copenhagen Accord that was signed by Canada in 2009 in which Canada opted to reduce their GHG by 17% or about 607 Megatonnes. One of the most disappointing events that have occurred in recent years; however, is the withdrawal of Canada from the Kyoto Protocol which was an agreement signed by Canada in 1997 in which Canada’s goal was to reduce GHG levels by 6% by 2012. In conclusion, we hope that as a country we better ourselves environmentally and reduce our ecological footprint as a country.

Answer from env5

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Answer from env6

Our ecological footprint is small since our country is small and have a relatively little impact on our environment.Below is the carbon dioxide emmissions in Ghana.
CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) in Ghana
The CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) in Ghana was reported at 0.37 in 2008, according to the World Bank. Carbon dioxide emissions are those stemming from the burning of fossil fuels and the manufacture of cement. They include carbon dioxide produced during consumption of solid, liquid, and gas fuels and gas flaring.This page includes a historical data chart, news and forecats for CO2 emissions (metric tons per capita) in Ghana. Ghana's has one of the highest GDP per capita in West Africa. The country has a diverse and rich resource base with gold, timber, cocoa, diamond, bauxite, and manganese being the most important source of foreign trade. In 2007, an oilfield which may contain up to 3 billion barrels of light oil was discovered. Yet, in spite of abundance of natural resources, a quarter of the population lives below the poverty line.
 We hope to reduce these emissions globally to make our environment friendly.

Answer from env7

   Ecological Footprint-maybe you heard of this phrase. In essence, it is instrumental in determining how much pressure humans are demanding on nature. Human beings are the most successful species on planet Earth. However, we’re using far more resources than Earth can provide for us.  Unfortunately, most of us don’t know how much natural resources we’re using. For that matter, we hardly know how much resources we have to use.

Answer from env8

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Answer from env9

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