Final answer:
The ecological footprint measures human demand on nature across six categories: carbon footprint, fishing grounds, cropland, grazing land, forest land, and built-up land. These measures illustrate the increasing impact of human consumption on the planet.
Step-by-step explanation:
The ecological footprint measures the demand on nature by humans and compares it to Earth's ecological capacity to regenerate. It includes several measures, typically categorized as:
- Carbon footprint
- Fishing grounds
- Cropland
- Grazing land
- Forest land
- Built-up land
These measures assess the use of resources and the generation of waste by populations. The carbon footprint, for instance, evaluates the amount of greenhouse gases produced through fossil fuel consumption. Over time, the global ecological footprint has been increasing, suggesting that the human demand on natural resources exceeds what the planet can renew. Continuation of such trends could lead to further environmental degradation and resource depletion.