The scientists studied how much of the Earth's resources people in Ordos City use up (ecological footprints). They found that on average, each person's footprint was 5.3547 hectares, but the area they could sustainably use was only 0.5456 hectares per person. So they were using resources faster than they could renew them by 4.8091 hectares per person. This means Ordos City needs to find ways to balance its resource use to be more sustainable. The scientists also shared some ideas to help Ordos become more sustainable.