Our planet is our home, a home that is so generous to us. At the same time, the earth is the future of our children, and we need to protect it so that it can continue to be a giver to future generations. But unfortunately, the overuse of natural resources harms the health of the ecosystem. Overproduction and overconsumption cause pollution, deforestation, and greenhouse gas emissions. But what can we do to prevent all this damage to the environment and leave a healthy planet for our children? Our answer to this question will be to reduce the ecological footprint.
The ecological footprint is a method used to measure the amount of land required to meet the human demand for natural capital, taking into account the resources that the ecosystem can meet. The ecological footprint measures your natural resource consumption against the Earth's ecological capacity to replenish them. The main question to be answered by measuring the ecological footprint is: How much of the ecological capacity of the planet is required by a given human activity or population? In short, ecological footprint compares demand and supply. A small supply-demand ratio is a good sign, meaning fewer natural resources will suffice for one person. According to the report published by the Global Footprint Network in 2022, humanity’s ecological footprint is 2.7 global hectares per person [1]. In addition, as a result of a research conducted considering the consumption levels in America, it has been revealed that if everyone in the world leads an average American lifestyle, 4 worlds of land will be needed to sustain humanity [2].
Although all these research results are a bit depressing, fortunately, we have the power to create a sustainable world thanks to some changes we will make in our daily lives. Here are some ideas to reduce our ecological footprint for the future of our most valuable ones.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Reduce Plastic Waste
Plastic waste is a great danger to nature because it takes hundreds or even thousands of years to biodegrade. In particular, single-use plastics constitute a large part of plastic pollution as they are consumed continuously in daily life. You can prevent plastics from entering the landfill by reducing your use of single-use plastics such as plastic straws and plastic bags, and preferring reusable water bottles and shopping bags instead.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Switch to Renewable Energy
Globally, the primary sources of greenhouse gas emissions are electricity and heat [3]. On the other hand, renewable energy does not emit greenhouse gases into the air and has a much smaller ecological footprint than fossil fuel alternatives such as oil. As a result, you can avoid the environmental damage of non-renewable energy sources by choosing renewable ones such as solar energy in your home.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Use Cleaner Transportation
Cars, airplanes, in short, transportation cause carbon pollution and a large part of greenhouse gas emissions. You can be a good step for the environment by choosing to cycle, walk or use public transport instead of driving, try car sharing, and use the airway as little as possible. In addition, switching to an electric vehicle may be a choice that will cause less harm to the environment.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Conserve Energy
Another way to reduce our ecological footprint is to consume energy responsibly. You can reduce carbon dioxide emissions by making a few small changes in your daily habits. Air drying your laundry instead of using a dryer, using a smart thermostat to set and control your central heating, and preferring energy-efficient LED bulbs can help reduce your energy consumption.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Buy Eco-Friendly Products
Every stage of the fashion industry, from production to distribution, consumes huge amounts of energy. Especially the fast fashion trend multiplies this waste. However, brands that adopt sustainable fashion and use organic cotton can minimize the use of water, energy, and chemicals. By choosing organic cotton instead of traditional cotton, the use of harmful chemicals and water consumption are reduced. As Walkiddy, we try to reduce our carbon footprint as much as possible by producing our products from organic cotton and following a sustainable strategy. You can also contribute to this process by choosing sustainable brands for your child and yourself.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Eat Less Meat
According to some studies, vegetarian and/or vegan diets produce 49.6% less greenhouse gas emissions, require 26.9% less energy to produce food, and are 41.5% less environmentally friendly than meat-containing diets [4]. Even if you don't prefer a completely vegetarian diet, you can significantly reduce your environmental impact by reducing your meat consumption.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Reduce Your Waste
It is very important to buy only what we need so that we can prevent waste and therefore reduce our ecological footprint. Conscious use of food and energy resources, trying to buy in bulk to reduce packaging waste, reducing the consumption of self-care products, and even preparing homemade formulas can help reduce our impact on the environment.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Recycle, Upcycle, Reuse
Recycling drastically reduces the amount of waste going to the earth, helps conserve resources, reduces air and water pollution, and saves space in our overcrowded landfills. You can contribute to this process by learning about your region's recycling rules. You can also recycle and repair unused items in your home, and choose to buy second-hand products.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Consume Less Water
Water is precious, it's a fundamental human need and a valuable resource that can run out if we are not careful. Therefore, it is very important to balance our water consumption. Some of the measures we can take to prevent water waste are to waste less water while watering the garden, stop unnecessary faucet use, take shorter showers, and run the dishwasher and washing machine when it is full.
To Reduce Ecological Footprint: Shop Local and Organic
Clothes, food, and many of the products we buy travel more than we do and thus leave a huge ecological footprint. When you choose to buy local products, you prevent the environmental damage caused by transportation, and these products are often produced in an environmentally friendly way. By visiting the farmer's market, and opting for locally produced products you can significantly reduce your ecological footprint.
