Ecological footprints

Nationally

Out of 146 countries Finland places third in terms of its ecological footprints, the leading countries are the Arab Emirates and the United States.

Since the late 1980’s, Finland has striven to enhance the role of sustainable development in mainstream politics. The Finnish National Commission on Sustainable Development has been working continuously since 1993.Something more cheery is that compared to other countries Finland has more than 50 % larger bio capacity than footprint (USA, Northern Africa, Central Europe, Middle East, India and China over 50% larger footprint than bio capacity). Finland needs about7.6 global hectares per person, this large number is due to our well fare style of living, cold winter climate and few people living spread out all over the country.

Regionally

The energy used at Vaasa Housing Fair area is accumulated from the seabed and rubbish. The area produces up to 20% electricity and 60% heat over its own yearly needs. Some of the energy solutions used at the Housing Fair area are unique innovations with a remarkable market potential as the traditional forms of heating are getting more and more expensive. The solutions displayed at the Housing Fair are widely exploitable also elsewhere in Finland.

Stormossen, a regional waste management company treats household waste to become biogas and pellets. Stormossen sends out booklets to all households to advice people how to sort waste and what to do with hazardous waste.

Individually

I took a quiz on the WWF.com website. My result was that I need2.7 global hectares to provide my needs. The average American needs 9.7 hectares, the average European needs 5.6 hectares and the average African needs only 1.1 hectares, while a sustainable footprint would be 1.8 hectares. There’s not much I would need to do to reduce my footprint to a sustainable level, it only takes a little determination. Here are a few examples:

  • Switch to low energy light bulbs
  • Reduce the length of my shower by only 3 minutes
  • Put a “No publicity” sticker on your mailbox
  • Eat vegetarian food at least twice a week
  • Travel distances shorter than 5 km by foot or bicycle
  • Not use anyair condition in the car
  • Choose a holiday destination near you instead of travelling to a foreign country
  • Travel by bus or train instead of car

Erica