HOW MANY ACRES does it take to support your lifestyle? You're about to find 
out. The Ecological Footprint Quiz estimates the productive land and water 
required for the resources you consume. This is a simplified version of the 
quiz designed by Redefining Progress. 
While not flexible enough to adjust for all situations, the quiz is a useful 
gauge. It focuses only on individual impact, however, and does not measure the 
effects of childbearing decisions. For more on the population question and the 
complete quiz online go to MyFootprint. 

INSTRUCTIONS 
1. Circle your response. 
2. Calculate the footprint for each section. 
3. Enter footprint totals in the quiz results section. 
4. Calculate your total footprint. 


FOOD                                                                           
1. How often do you eat animal-based foods (beef, 
pork, poultry, fish, eggs, dairy)? 
a.) Never (vegan).........................................................0.46 
b.) Infrequently (no meat; eggs/dairy a few times a week).................0.59 
c.) Occasionally (no meat or infrequent meat; ............................0.73 
eggs/dairy almost daily)
d.) Often (meat once or twice a week).....................................0.86 
e.) Very often (meat daily)...............................................1.00 
f.) Almost always (meat and eggs/dairy in almost .........................1.14 
every meal)

2. How much of your food is processed, packaged, or not locally grown? 
("locally grown" means less than 200 miles away. If your apple is from a 
farmers' market, odds are it's locally grown. If the fruit is from a 
supermarket, odds are it's not.) 
a.) Most..................................................................1.10 
b.) Three-quarters........................................................1.00 
c.) Half..................................................................0.90 
d.) One-quarter...........................................................0.79 
e.) Very little...........................................................0.69 

Multiply your answer to question 1 by your answer to 
question 2 by 5.5. 
Q1 x Q2 x 5.5 =.................................................... ____ acres 
                                                                FOOD FOOTPRINT 

SHELTER 
3. What is the size of your home? (The average house in 
the United States is 1,700 square feet.) 
a.) 2,500 square feet or larger............................................1.9 
b.) 1,900-2,500 square feet................................................1.5 
c.) 1,500-1,900 square feet................................................1.3 
d.) 1,000-1,500 square feet................................................0.9 
e.) 500-1,000 square feet..................................................0.6 
f.) 500 square feet or smaller.............................................0.3 

4. Which describes your home? 
a.) Free-standing house....................................................1.0 
b.) Multistory apartment building..........................................0.8 
c.) Green-design home......................................................0.5 

5. Do you use energy conservation and efficiency 
measures throughout your home? 
a.) Yes...................................................................0.75 
b.) No....................................................................1.00 

6. How many people live in your household, counting you? 
a.) One....................................................................1.0 
b.) Two....................................................................2.0 
c.) Three..................................................................3.0 
d.) Four...................................................................4.0 
e.) Five...................................................................5.0 
f.) Six....................................................................6.0 
g.) Seven or more..........................................................7.0 

Multiply answer to question 3 by answer to question 4 by 
answer to question 5 by 13.26. Then divide by answer to 
question 6. 
Q3 x Q4 x Q5 x 13.26 / Q6 =........................................ ____ acres 
                                                             SHELTER FOOTPRINT 

MOBILITY 
7. On average, how many miles do you travel on public transportation each week 
(bus, train, subway, or ferry)? 
a.) 200 or more...........................................................0.86 
b.) 75-200................................................................0.42 
c.) 25-75.................................................................0.15 
d.) 1-25..................................................................0.04 
e.) 0........................................................................0 

Enter the circled number in this subtotal box. 
..................................PUBLIC TRANSIT FOOTPRINT SUBTOTAL= ____acres 

8. On average, how many miles you travel each week in a 
car (as a driver or a passenger)? 
a.) 400 or more...........................................................1.91 
b.) 300-400...............................................................1.43 
c.) 200-300...............................................................1.00 
d.) 100-200...............................................................0.55 
e.) 10-100................................................................0.12 
f.) 0-10.....................................................................0 
(If 'f' is your answer, skip the next two questions and 
enter 0 as your Car Footprint Subtotal below.) 

9. How many miles per gallon does your car get? (If you 
don't own a car, estimate the average mpg of the cars 
you ride in.) 
a.) More than 50..........................................................0.31 
b.) 35-50.................................................................0.46 
c.) 25-35.................................................................0.65 
d.) 15-25.................................................................0.98 
e.) Fewer than 15.........................................................1.54 

10. How often do you ride in a car with someone else, 
rather than alone? 
a.) Almost never..........................................................1.50 
b.) Occasionally (about 25%)..............................................1.00 
c.) Often (about 50%).....................................................0.75 
d.) Very often (about 75%)................................................0.60 
e.) Almost always.........................................................0.50 

Multiply answer to question 8 by answer to question 9 by 
answer to question 10. Then multiply the product by 4: 
Q8 x Q9 x Q10 x 4=................................................... ____acre 
                                                        CAR FOOTPRINT SUBTOTAL 

11. Approximately how many hours do you spend flying 
each year? 
a.) 100 (one coast-to-coast U.S. round-trip per month)....................6.00 
b.) 25 (two or three coast-to-coast U.S. round-trips .....................1.50 
per year)
c.) 10 (one coast-to-coast U.S. round-trip per year).......................0.6 
d.) 3.....................................................................0.18 
e.) O........................................................................0 
Enter circled number in subtotal box 
                                      AIR TRAVEL FOOTPRINT SUBTOTAL= ____acres 

Add the Public Transit, Car, and Air Travel subtotals 
and write your mobility subtotal in box 
                                                 MOBILITY FOOTPRINT= ____acres 


GOODS FACTOR 
12. Compared with people in your neighborhood, how much 
trash do you throw away? 
a.) Much less.............................................................0.75 
b.) About the same........................................................1.00 
c.) Much more.............................................................1.25 
                                                       GOODS FACTOR= ____acres 

QUIZ RESULTS 
1. FOOD FOOTPRINT =..................................................____acres 
2. SHELTER FOOTPRINT =...............................................____acres 
3. MOBILITY FOOTPRINT =..............................................____acres 
4. GOODS FACTOR =....................................................____acres 
5. SHELTER + Mobility =..............................................____acres 
(Add 2+3) 
6. GOODS & SERVICES =................................................____acres 
(Multiply 4 x 5 x.9) 

Add 1 + 2 + 3 + 6 =................................................. ____acres 
                                                           YOUR TOTAL FOOTPRINT


ABOUT YOUR FOOTPRINT 
The average ecological footprint in the United States 
is 24 acres per person. Your footprint measures ____ % 
of an average U.S. footprint (your footprint / 24 x 100). 

Worldwide, there are 4.5 biologically productive acres 
per person. If everyone lived as you do, we would need 
____ planets. [Your footprint / 4.5]. 


NOTE: These numbers are based on world population today. Population growth will 
reduce resources available to each person in the future.