Open Educational Resources
Document Type
Activity or Lab
Publication Date
Summer 7-11-2026
Abstract
This handout guides students through a structured ecological footprint assessment using the online Footprint Calculator. By following a series of steps—selecting their location, entering detailed lifestyle information, and reviewing personalized results—students evaluate how many planets would be required if everyone lived with their same resource consumption patterns. The activity prompts learners to identify the largest contributors to their footprint, quantify their impact in global hectares, and explore scenario-based changes that could reduce their environmental demand. Through reflection, students consider how everyday human behaviors influence Earth’s productive capacity and resource availability. Overall, the exercise encourages critical thinking about sustainability and personal responsibility in global ecological systems.
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.
CUNY OER Funding
CUNY OER Initiative
Included in
Earth Sciences Commons, Environmental Sciences Commons, Oceanography and Atmospheric Sciences and Meteorology Commons
Comments
“This OER was funded in part by the CUNY OER Initiative”