And unlike a lot of environmental factors that are hard to measure, we have very precise records of how much energy is being consumed each year by each country of the world. So we can estimate how much environmental impact each country creates. Population Energy Consumption. Russian Federation. United Kingdom. South Africa. Percent of Global Total. When you click on one of the countries at right, you'll see how that country compares to the United States in the size of its population, the amount of energy it consumes as a country, and the amount of energy consumed per person.
You may be surprised to see how much energy people consume Every time you buy something, you're also buying all the energy that was used to produce that thing. Every time you pay your taxes, you're paying for photocopies, business trips, and air conditioning in government offices. In fact, on average, every time anyone spends an American dollar, the energy equivalent of half a liter of oil is burned to produce what that dollar buys! Why single out the U.
Why are we focusing on the United States? Because it consumes far more energy than any other country -- more than China and Russia put together. That's really extravagant! Healthy diets from sustainable food systems are possible for up to 10 billion people but become increasingly unlikely past this population threshold. Action to address population is essential if we are to meet the most basic human right of all - ensuring people have enough to eat. Water is an absolute basic human necessity, and each person adds to demand Threats to fresh water are even more critical.
An MIT study concluded that nearly five billion people will live in water-stressed regions by The United Nations has calculated that water shortages as a result of climate change could displace hundreds of millions of people by Regional variations in water availability are extreme but many of the world's poorest regions, and those which have high population growth, are among those with the shortest supply.
Developed countries also suffer from the effects of population pressure on water supply. As with every environmental problem, while there are many solutions to pollution, adding more people to the population adds more polluters and makes those solutions less effective. While rich countries produce more plastic waste per person, for instance, poor regions where population growth outstrips the infrastructure to dispose of waste may contribute more plastic overall.
Vast disparities exist in consumption and impact between the rich world and the Global South, and within countries themselves. A more just global system, in which resources are distributed more equitably, is essential. Whatever form that takes, in order to ensure that there is enough to meet everyone's right to a decent standard of living, the richest must consume more sustainably - in other words, consume less.
When nations leave poverty, their fertility rates rates reduce - but hand-in-hand with that increasing prosperity comes increased consumption.
People should not have to compete for the Earth's resoures. That's why population and family size is an issue in both developed and developing countries. Where affluence and consumption is high, reducing the number of new consumers is an effective, permanent way of reducing the drain they place on resources, as well as their environmental impact. It does not mean that people should not do other things to reduce their consumption, or that wider isues of global injustice do not need to be urgently addressed.
Nevertheless, reducing, through effective, ethical means , the number of affluent people consuming is an essential, effective method to relieve the pressure. In the developing world, fewer people means less competition for natural resources, especially local resources such as land and fresh water. After use, they are disposed of or returned to the economy through reuse, remanufacturing, or recycling. Sustainability in material use has three components: 1 the relationship between the rate of resource consumption and the overall stock of resources; 2 the efficiency of resource use in providing essential services; and 3 the proportion of resources leaking from the economy and impacting the environment.
The first two topics reflect the sustainability of resource supply, while the third affects the sustainability of ecosystems. The United States is a primary user of natural resources, including fossil fuels and materials. Material Use Factsheet. Click PDF to download a printable version:. Patterns of Use Raw materials are extracted, converted to engineered and commodity materials, and manufactured into products.
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