I just designed a quiz for my Environmental Issues related to this topic. Each member of the class is asked to calculate their own ecological footprint and also the footprints of two hypothetical (and hopefully average) people, one from Kenya and the other from China. I designed those profiles based on some generalized demographic background data. The students are then asked to discuss the differences among the three footprints and the factors that most affect the results. I use the Earth Day Network Ecological Footprint Quiz at http://www.earthday.net/footprint/index.asp.
When I did the assignment before handing it out to my students, I was very surprised at my results (not that my footprint WAS bigger but HOW MUCH bigger). I realize there are some assumptions that go along with the quiz, but it was still very eye-opening on a personal level. Loretta Battaglia
