Global Trends in Consumption

Ecological Footprint

Ecological Footprint

Theoretical measure of the amount of land and water a population requires to produce the resources it consumes and to absorb its waste, under prevailing technology

Bio-Capacity

Measure of the existing biologically productive area capable of regenerating natural resources in the form of food, fibre, and timber, and of providing carbon dioxide sequestration

• arable land

• pasture land

• forests

• oceans

• infrastructure

• energy costs

Ecological Creditors

Countries with more resources than they are using, e.g. Namibia, Canada

Ecological Debtors

Countries using more resources than they have biocapacity for, e.g. Switzerland, Japan

Ecological Footprint - Biocapacity Ratio

JP: 7.1

UK: 3.5

US: 1.9

1971: footprint exceeded biocapacity for the first time

World Overshoot Day

Date in the year when we exceed our resources for 1 planet; August 2nd 2023

Dietary Diversity

Traditional diets declining, homogenous diets cause a loss of local foods for more global food types that are aggresively marketed, freely supplied, and affordable

Trends in Water

Decreasing availability, increasing consumption

Geothermal Energy

Water is pumped deep into the ground, heated to 200°C, comes back out as steam, turns turbines

Wave Power

Least significant, a metal buoy with a joint in the middle, the centre gets moved up and down

Pros: constant

Cons: corrosion, maintenance, not suitable everywhere

Tidal Power

Underwater wind turbines essentially

Pros: constant

Cons: corrosion

Hydrogen

Blue → methane

Grey → methane and carbon capture and storage

Green → renewable energy

Splitting H2O with electrolysis

Pros: not as heavy as electric batteries so good for cars, boats, planes etc.

Cons: explosive, if not green then pointless as a renewable, not for use in homes, currently takes more energy than it produces

Biofuel(Ethynol)

Mostly colza, used as fuel for machines

Pros: can use seaweed

Cons: takes a lot of space, potential food crop land used for cars, doesn’t work as a replacement for oil

Biogas

Collecting methane from animal/human waste

Ground/Air/Water Source Heat Pump

Pros: small running costs, especially if used in conjunction with solar panels

Cons: cost of installation, difficult to retrofit

Hydrocarbons

Chemical compounds containing hydrogen and carbon, fossil fuels(coal, oil, natural gas), coal has highest carbon conc.(dirtiest), oil has more hydrogen, natural gas had the most hydrogen and the lest carbon(cleanest)

Coal as a Fossil Fuel

Formed 300 million years ago at the bottom of swamps, tropical trees → mass extinction, formed by time+heat+pressure

Natural Gas as a Fossil Fuel

Cleanest fossil fuel, formed the same way as oil, in many oil production regions the gas is flared off, fracking of shale rock since 2000

Oil as a Fossil Fuel

1. Carbon Rich Aggregate Particles, 90/150 million years ago following extinction events, formed under anticline folds, refined at 350C

2007 → 86.3 million barrels per day

Now → 101 million barrels per day

Took 89 days to stop the Deepwater Horizon spill from leaking

Synthetic Crude

Oil sands → bitumen, run over hot water to separate oil

Heated by natural gas

Current Oil Consumption

Supply will not be able to meet demand, cost of energy will escalate hugely

Price of Oil

Same price for a litre of petrol as a litre of milk, should be paying for the extraction + impact

Petro-Chemical Industry

Naptha + Gasoline —> plastics, fertilisers, car fuel, paints, wax, tires, makeup

Hubbert’s Peak

Graph produced by M.K. Hubbert, predicted that oil production peaked in 1970 and its now increasingly difficult and expensive to extract oil

Keystone XL

Pipeline running to Texas okayed by Trump but blocked by Biden