© Global Footprint Network

Have the countries with the highest ecological footprints done the best in this year’s FIFA World Cup? Analysts at the Global Footprint Network asked themselves this question in this month’s newsletter addendum and the results of their calculations are interesting — and sometimes surprising!

The eight nations who made it to the quarter-finals represent vastly different lifestyles. If all people on Earth lived like residents of those countries, how many Earths would it take? If we all lived like the Argentineans, it would take us 1.6 Earths. In contrast, living like the Belgians would require us to juggle 4.3 planets – not a small feat. The Colombian lifestyle would lead us to juggle the fewest Earths – just slightly more than one.

To read the entire newsletter, click here. For an essay on the American ecological footprint from a young historian’s perspective, follow this link.