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Definition: Ecological footprint from Brewer's Dictionary of Phrase and Fable

A term dating from the early 1990s for the amount of land required to sustain a particular human community, or the human race in general, especially as viewed as a measure of its exploitation of the Earth's resources. ‘Footprint’ as a word for the area covered by something, such as that under a vehicle or aircraft, dates from the 1960s (for another example, see carbon footprint).


Carbon footprint

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Measure of the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission involved in human activity. It is expressed in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent produced in a unit of time. (Carbon dioxide equivalent is the mass of carbon dioxide gas that has the same warming effect in the Earth's atmosphere as the given GHG emission.) The term ‘footprint’ is based on an analogy with ‘ecological footprint’, a measure of resource use that is expressed in hectares, units of physical area. A full ‘life-cycle assessment’ of a carbon footprint in relation to, say, a car component will calculate the total GHG emissions involved in extracting raw materials, in manufacturing the part, in using it, in recycling or disposing of it, in transporting materials at every stage, and so on. The carbon footprints of various activities are regularly published by the European Union and the governments of the USA, the UK, and other leading nations. Leading the lifestyle of a US citizen for one year has a carbon footprint…
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Full text Article Carbon Footprint

From AllSides Red Blue Dictionary
On one level, a carbon footprint is a mundane technical definition - i.e.., an attempt to take account of the environmental impact of an individual, organization, event, or product over a given time period (typically a year) by measuring units of carbon dioxide, which stands in for all greenhouse…
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Full text Article carbon footprint

From Dictionary of Energy
“Ernest Hemingway left a significant footprint in a great many places—Spain, Italy, France, Cuba, Tanzania, and Canada, as well as his native United States.” (Vancouver Sun) This is a typical use of footprint in a figurative sense, to mean the impact made by a person’s presence or activity. The…
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Full text Article Carbon footprint

From The Hutchinson Unabridged Encyclopedia with Atlas and Weather Guide
Measure of the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) emission involved in human activity. It is expressed in terms of tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent produced in a unit of time. (Carbon dioxide equivalent is the mass of carbon dioxide gas that has the same warming effect in the Earth's atmosphere as…
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Full text Article carbon footprint

From The Macquarie Dictionary
the carbon dioxide emissions for which an individual or organisation can be held responsible, as by their travel, fuel consumption, diet, energy requirements, etc. Human activities that have an environmental impact through the release of carbon-based greenhouse gases may be said to have a carbon…
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Full text Article What’s the carbon footprint of March Madness?

From The Conversation: An Independent Source of Analysis from Academic Researchers
March Madness means 68 teams vying to become champion, Cinderella runs for a few underdogs and big business for the NCAA, which earns 85% of its annual operating budget during the men’s basketball tournament. But all of that comes at a tremendous cost: An estimated 463 million pounds (210 million…
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Full text Article The carbon footprint of a full English breakfast – and how to reduce it (Sep. 2021)

From The Conversation: An Independent Source of Analysis from Academic Researchers
Over four-fifths of the English population say they enjoy a full English breakfast. But when food production accounts for a quarter of global greenhouse gas emissions, and 11% of UK emissions come from agriculture, it’s time to think critically about how we can reduce the impact of our breakfasts – …
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Full text Article Climate explained: what each of us can do to reduce our carbon footprint (Oct. 2021)

From The Conversation: An Independent Source of Analysis from Academic Researchers
Climate Explained is a collaboration between The Conversation, Stuff and the New Zealand Science Media Centre to answer your questions about climate change. If you have a question you’d like an expert to answer, please send it to climate.change@stuff.co.nz As an individual, what is the single, most…
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Full text Article carbon footprint

From The American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language
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Full text Article carbon footprint

From Collins English Dictionary
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Full text Article carbon footprint

From Merriam-Webster's Collegiate(R) Dictionary
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