Shanghai, China – Visitors of the Shanghai World Expo have the opportunity to evaluate their ecological impacts on the planet with the Ecological Footprint calculator available at the WWF pavilion. Ecological Footprint (a measure of human demand on the planet’s ecosystems) and sustainable ways of living are the theme of the first of six monthly campaigns run at the WWF pavilion during the Expo.
Visitors are invited to calculate their demand of natural resources with the aid of a customized footprint calculator, available on site and online. Calculations are based on information such as the types of food people eat and the means of transport they choose in their daily lives, the amount of energy and water they consume, and the amount of waste they produce. WWF is also suggesting ways to reduce impacts, such as taking a shower rather than a bath, or unplugging unnecessary electronic appliances rather than leaving them on standby.
“Gosh, I am consuming 2.3 Earths,” said a 6-year-old boy after completing the online questionnaire with the help of his mum. He committed to pay more attention to his water use in the future.
Ecological impacts in daily activities, such as use of cars, are also highlighted with sand painting shows which aim at illustrating that goods we use in our daily life have an impact on the planet – sometimes far away from home.
As children are invited to join the show by painting on sand, a 8-year old Chinese girl said: “I want to draw a planet which is lying sick on a bed because of environmental pollution. If we do not want to send the planet to hospital, we need to take care of it.”
During the first ten days of the Shanghai’s World Expo over 40,000 people visited WWF’s pavilion, which is in the shape of the “tai qi” showing the balance between ying and yang to represent humans living in harmony with nature.
0 comments:
Post a Comment