Mitigation Strategies and Solutions: Conserving Energy and Human Population

Mitigation Strategies and Solutions: Conserving Energy and Human Population Developing countries with rapid population growth face the urgent need to improve their living standards without destroying the environment. Natural resources are facing a coupling of increased pressure, threatening the health of the public and our development. The global challenge begins with the water shortages, loss of forests, and air and water pollution. Are we blindly destroying our natural resources needed for our future, as we humans exploit nature to meet our present needs? The world’s current supply of energy is provided by natural resources. Natural resources are defined as various nonrenewable and renewable energy sources. A renewable resource consists of naturally occurring resources in nature, like wind (windpower), water (hydropower), or sun (solar). Renewable energy is safer for the environment when compared to nonrenewable resources. Only about 9 percent of electricity in the U.S. is generated from these renewable sources (EPA, 1997). Renewable resources are replaced in nature as they are used, which makes this type of energy highly desirable. Nonrenewable resources are found in fixed amounts, these are natural resources that cannot be replaced. Although nonrenewable resources are also found in nature, they are more harmful to the environment than renewable resources, such as, oil, gas and coal. About 71.5 percent of electricity in the U.S. is generated from these types of nonrenewable sources (EPA, 1997). Nonrenewable resources cannot be replaced once they have been used up, so they are not an ideal source of energy when compared to renewable resources. Conserving energy is extremely important because the world will not always be able to rely on nonrenewable resources. The Earth has a very limited amount of nonrenewable energy sources. It is important to conserve the current supply of nonrenewable sources and to use the renewable sources. This will allow for future generations to have our natural resources available. Conserving energy will limit the use of nonrenewable resources. The conservation of Energy is also important because the consumption of nonrenewable sources impacts our environment. Energy provides us with all of our modern day conveniences. Automobile transportation and electricity are just a few commonly used things that depend on a steady supply of energy. Energy consumption around the world has been continually increasing since 1982 (Berg & Hager, 2007). All of society can help solve these global issues. In the U.S., the average family’s energy use generates over 11,200 pounds of air pollutants each year. Every unit of electricity conserved reduces the environmental impact of energy use (EPA, 1997). As our human population rises rapidly, energy conservation becomes a higher concern. The supply and demand ratio is becoming more uneven as our human population rises. Protecting and preserving our natural resources is a key component to guaranteeing our future generations the resources necessary. “The present world supply of oil is projected to last approximately 50 years at current production rates. The world's natural gas supply is considered adequate for about 50 years, and the coal supply for about 100 years. These projections, however, are based on current consumption rates and current population numbers; if population and consumption levels continue to increase, these fossil energy stores could be depleted even faster (Pimentel 1999).” The current ever-accelerating human consumption of our natural resources lies at the root of our many global environmental issues. The higher our population the higher our human consumption raises. The current consumption patterns stress limited natural resources, create wasteful toxic byproducts, and contribute to global warming. These factors affect the quality of life and health of each individual around the world. Once the increasing human population is added to the mix, it then becomes increasingly crystal clear how the healths of the ecosystems we depend on for our continued existence are being compromised. “It is apparent from the figure below that for an energy consumption more than 1 toe/capita/year, the HDI is higher than 0.8 and essentially constant for all countries. Therefore, 1 toe/capita/year seems to be the minimum energy needed to guarantee an acceptable level of living as measured by the HDI, despite many variations in consumption patterns and lifestyles across countries (Development and Energy, Overview, 2004).” Human development index (HDI) and energy use by country. Reproduced from the World Bank (1999) and United Nations Development Program (1998). Nonliving factors that contribute or are affected by energy consumption and human population are sunlight, temperature, precipitation, water, and soil. Sunlight and temperature are both contributions to energy consumption and human population. By using the sunlight and the temperature we can use other renewable resources for sources of light and energy instead of using the nonrenewable resources we currently use. Water and soil are affected by sunlight and temperature already. Living factors that may contribute or be affected by energy consumption and human population are herbivores (animals that only eat plants), carnivores (Animals that feed on other animals or material of animal origin), and omnivores (Animals that feed on material of both plant and animal origin). When the plants are affected by energy consumption and human population that means that there are less of them for the herbivores to eat and stay alive. If these herbivores don’t have food to eat and stay healthy they will die and the carnivores which feed off of them may get sick and pass on themselves. Omnivores are affected because they may also get sick from eating plants and other animals which are unhealthy due to lack of energy. According to the Development and Energy, Overview. (2004), The stages of the development of man, from primitive man (1 million years ago) to today's technological man, can be roughly correlated with energy consumption. * Primitive man (East Africa approximately 1 million years ago), without the use of fire, had only the energy of the food he ate (2000 kcal/day). * Hunting man (Europe approximately 100,000 years ago) had more food and also burned wood for heat and cooking. * Primitive agricultural man (Fertile Crescent in 5000 BC) grew crops and used animal energy. * Advanced agricultural man (northeast Europe in 1400 AD) had coal for heating, water power, wind power, and animal transport. * Industrial man (in England in 1875) had the steam engine. * Technological man (in the United States in 1970) consumed 230,000 kcal/day. We need to conserve as much energy and resources as possible with the rise of human population. The biggest negative effect on energy conservation is human impact all together. As the population rises, more resources are being used making energy conservation more and more challenging. We should be able to use the available resources more efficiently to get optimum long term social benefits. Another negative human impact on energy conservation is the lack of knowledge. Our society is unaware of the possible issues we are facing with renewable and nonrenewable resources. If more people were aware of the possible effects they have on the environment, then they can take measures to try to preserve the resources we have available to us. Developing sustainability strategies and solutions to conserve energy will help society move towards a better, livable future. How society preserves or abuses the environment could possibly determine whether the living standards deteriorate or improve. Growing human population and urban expansions do not bode well for our futures. Many steps towards sustainability can be taken by each individual. These steps include simple tasks such as: turning lights off when they are not in use, or turning off the faucet unless absolutely necessary will contribute towards conserving energy, using energy efficient light bulbs, washing clothes in cold water whenever possible and unplugging appliances when not in use. “The truth is that recycling one ton of paper saves 7000 gallons of water and making recycled paper for consumer use uses 80 percent less water and 65 percent less energy than producing virgin paper (LoveToKnow Corp, 2011).” Stabilizing population is also an important factor in sustainable development. The absolute population continues to increase. Slowing population growth would help to improve our living standards and would also help protect our natural resources. Without practicing sustainable development, society faces a deteriorating environment which may lead to an ecological disaster if preventive measures are not taken. In order to reach sustainability, slowing the increase in population can help take pressure off the environment and help save time to improve the living standards. According to The Population Reference Bureau (PRB), About 1.7 billion people live in 47 countries where the fertility rate averages between three and five children per woman. Another 730 million people live in 44 countries where the average woman has five children or more. Family planning programs and information services should become widely available. Accessible family planning programs will help slow down population growth by allowing families to make informed decisions on reproductive health. With any plan of action, there are many benefits and challenges. The main challenge to decrease population and increase energy conservation is awareness. Society should become aware of the issues we are facing and how to protect our futures. This challenge can be faced my involving the media, holding informational classes and starting a “go green” movement. Each individual’s effort will be needed in order to protect and preserve our natural resources and to decrease the population size. With required government, societal, and global support a manageable goal can be achieved. The government should implement workshops and educate the community on ways to conserve energy and help the environment. If more people understood the importance of conserving energy, they would be more likely to make an effort towards it. Recycling centers should also be readily available in each and every town across the country. Many towns offer recycling pick up for a small annual fee. If more people recycled it would make an enormous impact on the environment. Plastic products have become heavily relied on in today’s society. Millions of plastic bags are used daily at grocery and department stores. Plastic harms the environment because it ends up in landfills and it is not biodegradable. Using renewable cloth bags would make a significant difference. Plastic bottles are another factor. Many people buy bottled water, switching to a water filter to purity tap water could help the environment immensely. Not only is bottled water expensive, but it generates a very large amount of container waste. If each and every human being made a commitment to help population stabilize and conserve resources, the world together, would be able to meet the challenges of conserving energy and creating a sustainable environment. Efforts require public investments, less pollution, slower population growth, and effective natural resource management. When the population stabilizes at a manageable level, there will be a very powerful effect on our living standards and the environment as a whole.

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