How to Reduce Your Ecological Footprint - Essay Example

The eco-footprint of UAE is estimated at 10.68 global hectares per person. In fact, if everyone lived like a UAE resident, approximately four and a half planets would be required to sustain humanity. This figure is quite alarming since if everyone lived like this then the long-term availability of such resources will be significantly diminished. This will also affect the climate systems, the hydrological cycles and the nutrient cycles in the atmosphere. Choosing to eat imported foods can also affect our planet tremendously since the transport of food products (food miles) is the fastest-growing source of greenhouse gases (Center for Environmental Education, 2008).

According to research done by the World Watch Institute, imported products can use much more energy and also produce much more emissions as compared to a local diet. However, there are several methods we can adapt to in order to reduce the ecological footprint. Some of these methods include using green transport modes. For example, opting to use a bicycle instead of a car especially when the distance to be covered is relatively short. Individuals should also aim at adopting green energy to reduce goods and services footprint efficiently.

Furthermore, individuals should implement water-saving habits and also encourage their families to consume in-season local food. People should also strive in using sustainable building materials such as wool bricks and triple-glazed windows among others (Mamangon, 2014).In conclusion, the UAE launched an initiative to curb its ecological footprint by creating an initiative called the Al Basma Al Beeyah in 2007 through a partnership with several organizations and societies. This initiative is aimed at developing scientific achievements to address the challenge.

The initiative has been able to assist in the innovation of greener energy sources.