The concept of 'ecological footprint' has gained prominence as a metric for assessing human demand on natural resources. It measures the biologically productive land and sea area required to regenerate the resources a population consumes and to absorb the corresponding waste, given prevailing technology and resource management practices. While this indicator provides a useful snapshot of sustainability, critics argue that it oversimplifies complex environmental interactions by aggregating disparate impacts into a single unit (global hectares). Moreover, it does not account for technological innovations that may reduce future resource consumption, nor does it differentiate between renewable and non-renewable resource depletion. Despite these limitations, the ecological footprint remains a powerful tool for raising awareness and comparing consumption patterns across nations, prompting debates on equity and the need for systemic change in production and consumption models.
❓ According to the passage, what is a major criticism of the ecological footprint as an indicator?
A. It ignores the impact of waste absorption on land and sea areas.
B. It fails to capture the complexity of environmental interactions by using a single unit.
C. It overestimates the resource consumption of developing countries.
D. It does not provide a basis for comparing different nations' consumption.
✅ 正确答案
It fails to capture the complexity of environmental interactions by using a single unit.
IELTS Reading Tips
Skim the questions first, underline keywords, then locate in the passage
Watch for paraphrasing; correct answers are often reworded
Be wary of absolute statements (all, always, never) — usually wrong
Pay attention to content after transition words (however, but, yet)
Manage time: about 20 minutes per passage; skip difficult questions first