It is a fact that today we are consuming more resources than what we have available.
This has been the effect of a 150 years development that has used the fossil resources to an extent that made everything EASY AND APPARENTLY COST FREE (at least in this part of the world).
August 20th 2013 was this year's OVERSHOOT DAY, marking the date when humanity exhausted nature’s budget for the year. We are now operating in overdraft. For the rest of the year, we will maintain our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
As this condition is a result of more than 150 years development, we cannot expect to change it overnight.
It would be like braking a car running at 350km/h in 1 meter... without seatbelts.
Clearly it is a process that will be long. Hopefully not too long as time is not infinite.
The main point is to reduce our energy need and, finally, try and limit our fossil fuels dependence.
As I highlighted on my last blog
1) EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SAVING (starting from buildings)
2) USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY both electrical (like photovoltaic) and Thermal (like heat pumps)
are two key points that would allow our energy footprint to reduce.
BUT BEWARE!!!
This does not mean to worsen our life quality. Innovation must develop to help us doing this.
We must simply reduce what is thrown away.
There is a great project ongoing in Switzerland in this respect.
It's called 2000W society (http://www.2000watt.ch/). It targets to reduce the energy requirement per person from the actual 6000W to 2000W that is the energy level that would be sustaionable for an equal and even distribution Worldwide.
It will be a long process. I am sure we will be able to go there and we cannot stop going that direction.
Whichever different thought would mean that we think it's over and...
There are small things that we can start doing though.
One exemple is the bottled water.
Not disputing the taste and the quality of the water that, normally, are good both for bottled water and for tap water, I invite you to follow me in this quick calculation.
Italy is drinking an average 184 liters of bottled water per year i.e. 123 bottles of 1,5 liters.
Every bottle weights 0,04 kg so we need an average of 5kg plastic per year per person that we throw away. Everyone of us.
Now the point.
To produce 5kg of plastic we need:
1) 10 kg of oil (63kWh of primary energy)
2) 87,5 liters of water (every kg of PET needs 17,5 kg of water)
And I am not counting what is required to transport them.
Then we throw it away
This video will probably be more explanatory...
Cheers
Have a nice week end
This has been the effect of a 150 years development that has used the fossil resources to an extent that made everything EASY AND APPARENTLY COST FREE (at least in this part of the world).
August 20th 2013 was this year's OVERSHOOT DAY, marking the date when humanity exhausted nature’s budget for the year. We are now operating in overdraft. For the rest of the year, we will maintain our ecological deficit by drawing down local resource stocks and accumulating carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
As this condition is a result of more than 150 years development, we cannot expect to change it overnight.
It would be like braking a car running at 350km/h in 1 meter... without seatbelts.
Clearly it is a process that will be long. Hopefully not too long as time is not infinite.
The main point is to reduce our energy need and, finally, try and limit our fossil fuels dependence.
As I highlighted on my last blog
1) EFFICIENCY AND ENERGY SAVING (starting from buildings)
2) USE OF RENEWABLE ENERGY both electrical (like photovoltaic) and Thermal (like heat pumps)
are two key points that would allow our energy footprint to reduce.
BUT BEWARE!!!
This does not mean to worsen our life quality. Innovation must develop to help us doing this.
We must simply reduce what is thrown away.
There is a great project ongoing in Switzerland in this respect.
It's called 2000W society (http://www.2000watt.ch/). It targets to reduce the energy requirement per person from the actual 6000W to 2000W that is the energy level that would be sustaionable for an equal and even distribution Worldwide.
It will be a long process. I am sure we will be able to go there and we cannot stop going that direction.
Whichever different thought would mean that we think it's over and...
There are small things that we can start doing though.
One exemple is the bottled water.
Not disputing the taste and the quality of the water that, normally, are good both for bottled water and for tap water, I invite you to follow me in this quick calculation.
Italy is drinking an average 184 liters of bottled water per year i.e. 123 bottles of 1,5 liters.
Every bottle weights 0,04 kg so we need an average of 5kg plastic per year per person that we throw away. Everyone of us.
Now the point.
To produce 5kg of plastic we need:
1) 10 kg of oil (63kWh of primary energy)
2) 87,5 liters of water (every kg of PET needs 17,5 kg of water)
And I am not counting what is required to transport them.
Then we throw it away
This video will probably be more explanatory...
Cheers
Have a nice week end
No comments:
Post a Comment