Factors Affecting the Ecological Footprint in The United States: The Influences of Natural Resources, Economic Conditions, Renewable Energy Sources, and Advancements in Technology

Abstract

Over the recent decades, there has been a lively debate over the relationship between natural assets and the ecosystem level that surrounds them. It is a well-known fact that numerous prosperous countries that are endowed with mineral assets have experienced favorable advancements in both innovations and the economy. In spite of this, the most significant problems are the ways in which sustainable power, natural resources, and technical developments in regions with plentiful ecological assets, such as the United States of America, influence the quality of the environment. This research explores the dynamic consequences of natural resources rent, technological innovation, renewable energy, and economic expansion on the ecological footprint (EF) in the United States of America from 1980 to 2021. The time period covered by this study is from 1980 to 2021. According to the results obtained through the use of the technique known as Autoregressive Distributed Lag (ARDL), the quality of the environment is improved by renewable energy sources, whereas the ecological condition is deteriorated by natural resource rents. Additionally, the findings revealed that there is a significantly favorable association between technological advancements and natural health. The findings have significant legal repercussions for legislators with reference to natural resources and technological development in the direction of biodiversity quality enrichment. These are vital progressions in sustainable development.