What is the relationship between affluence and ecological footprint?
1 Answer
Typically those countries or persons who are more affluent have larger ecological footprints.
Explanation:
Typically those countries or persons who are more affluent have larger ecological footprints, although there are exceptions to this trend. Generally speaking, countries with more affluent lifestyles have a larger impact. The graph below shows that points or countries with higher GDPs (gross domestic product) have higher ecological footprints.
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On average, if everyone in the world lived the way people in the US live, we would need more than four planets (see image below). If everyone lived the way people in Brazil live on average, we would need one or two planets. *Note that these are averages. There are people in each of these countries who live on far less than the country's average and those who live on far more than the country's average.
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Owning larger houses and multiple vehicles, traveling by airplane, and purchasing more goods all increase our ecological footprint and these lifestyle choices require a certain amount of money to engage in or make. You can learn more about ecological footprints here.
