Ecological Footprint
Measure of human resource consumption and waste production relative to Earth's biocapacity, indicating whether consumption is sustainable.
Formula
Ecological Footprint = Biocapacity Demand / Available Biocapacity
Real World
The average American has an ecological footprint of ~8 global hectares per person — if everyone lived like an American, we would need roughly 5 Earths to sustain global consumption.
Exam Focus
When asked to 'evaluate', always contrast high-income vs low-income country footprints and reference the 1.7 Earths overshoot figure.
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