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When looking for solutions for a sustainable future, the
tendency is to either hope for the development of technology or point fingers
at institutions or corporations to make changes. But in a constantly expanding
world, how important is individual consumption in making steps forward?
Studies show that energy consumption in the United States climbed up
again in 2010 after a twelve year low in 2009. Total energy usage increased
to 98 from 94.6 quadrillion BTU between these years and the same steady
increases can be expected in most other countries as the demand and use of
resources continues to increase.
While an individual's energy needs may be truthfully
insignificant, it makes sense that even small changes across a whole population
could drastically cut energy usage and costs. But is this big picture
perspective practical?
The Consumer Mindset
Energy and natural resources have nearly always (in some
form or another) been seen as commodities to be bought, sold, and used. In a
consumer driven economy, this means that individual consumption depends largely
on the price and availability of the resource.
When availability is high and cost is low, a significant
portion of resource and energy consumption is wasted due to convenience. For
example, Debai (a city of the UAE) lights up the sky every night with a
multitude of lights kept on through the early morning hours. And while
resources could be saved by turning these lights off when not in use, the
individual expense (or lack thereof) makes it not worth the effort.
The Dubai skyline at night, including the Burj Khalifa (the
world's tallest building). Image Credit:
Reuters
This is because Dubai residents and businesses pay only 32.2
percent of the full cost of fossil fuels, according
to the International Energy Agency (IEA). Subsidies from the state pay the
remainder. Other Middle Eastern countries provide even more generous cost
reductions. And with cheap and available energy comes the convenience to waste
it without worry.
When looking at water consumption, the average person in the
United States uses 575 liters daily, as compared to 374 liters/person in Japan,
and 149 liters/person in the UK (info from data360).
Larger water footprints are due to larger daily household usage as well as the heavy
consumption of products like meats, which come from water-intensive industries.
This may not be seen as a problem if the resources are
readily available. However, population is growing, countries are developing, and quality
of life is increasing for the average person. Consequently, the questions
regarding energy availability and cost are becoming more concerning.
Population Problem?
 Regardless of technology advances, policy changes, and
industry focus, the natural resources available to sustain life on earth are
limited. As population increases, the demand for these limited resources will
rise.
This table was originally compiled from Google's public data
figures in a previous
post. It shows figures of the world's increasing population, which has more
than doubled in the last half century.
If trends continue in this way, quality of life could
drastically decline as available resources (particularly water and agricultural
land) become more and more scarce. Simon Ross, CEO of Population Matters
campaign group in the UK, argues that the best
way anyone can promote sustainability is to have less children (or in less
controversial terms, consider family planning).
Current family planning initiatives and education seem to be
under-resourced and under-publicized. In fact, most "green" and energy saving
groups and practices never mention the impact of having less children, which is
arguably the most significant contribution any individual can make towards
sustainability. But is this possibly contentious suggestion one that people are
willing to consider?
Resources:
Data 360 - Average
Water Use
ScienceDaily
- Americans Using More Fossil Fuels
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Re: Sustainability in a Growing World
