The Development of Ecological Footprint - Essay Example

The quiz also lacked clarity at certain points. One question had to do with how much trash I generate. This question is easy to answer at first, but after some thought, it actually becomes quite difficult. Do items recycled and composted count as trash? The quiz does not answer this question. Nor are there further questions relating to composting and recycling. I can only cite the example of my own family. In our case, my mother would frequently refer to recyclable containers as trash, even though we used an environmentally friendly method to dispose of them.

If other Americans use the same language as was used in my household, this particular question may produce skewed results and leave people with a very inaccurate perception of their ecological footprint. Ultimately the quiz does what it’s supposed to do. The Footprint Network is an organization designed to promote environmentally friendly lifestyles. It does this by giving you a result that projects your ecological footprint (however inaccurate it may be) and then listing ways you can improve your lifestyle to better the entire planet.

However, it would be more useful for the website to give you a more accurate appraisal of your environmental situation. These are problems that could easily be fixed by introducing a new level of clarity to the questions asked.