Humans and the Environment

Here is the material we used for teh Humans and the Environment assignment - don't worry if you haven't achieved a pass yet as we'll be going back and working on completing all our half done work once we finish our next assignment (+/- 2 weeks away).

Recycling –

Recycling is one of the best ways for you to have a positive impact on the world in which we live. Recycling is important to both the natural environment and us. We must act fast as the amount of waste we create is increasing all the time.  Recycling is very important as waste has a huge negative impact on the natural environment.  Recycling is essential to cities around the world and to the people living in them.  UK households produced 30.5 million tonnes of waste in 2003/04, of which 17% was collected for recycling (source: defra.gov.uk). This figure is still quite low compared to some of our neighbouring EU countries, some recycling over 50% of their waste. There is still a great deal of waste which could be recycled that ends up in landfill sites which is harmful to the environment.

Recycling is an excellent way of saving energy and conserving the environment. Did you know that:

• 1 recycled tin can would save enough energy to power a television for 3 hours.
• 1 recycled glass bottle would save enough energy to power a computer for 25 minutes.
• 1 recycled plastic bottle would save enough energy to power a 60-watt light bulb for 3 hours.
• 70% less energy is required to recycle paper compared with making it from raw materials.

Some Interesting Facts

• Up to 60% of the rubbish that ends up in the dustbin could be recycled.
• The unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours.
• The largest lake in the Britain could be filled with rubbish from the UK in 8 months.
• On average, 16% of the money you spend on a product pays for the packaging, which ultimately ends up as rubbish.
• As much as 50% of waste in the average dustbin could be composted.
• Up to 80% of a vehicle can be recycled.
• 9 out of 10 people would recycle more if it were made easier.

Energy use –

Energy use in the United Kingdom stood at 3,894.6 kilograms of oil equivalent per capita in 2005 compared to a world average of 1,778.0. In 2008, total energy consumed was 9.85 exajoules (EJ) - around 2% of the estimated 474 EJ worldwide total (while the UK accounts for under 1% of global population). Demand for electricity in 2006 was ~40GW typically, and ~60GW at peak; the total electricity consumed in 2006 was 1.25 exajoules.
The Low Carbon Transition Plan launched by the British government in July 2009 aims at 30% of renewable and of 40% of low CO2-content fuels in electricity generation by 2020. The NDA announced winning bidders for its nuclear site auction and launched a new process for the Sellafield site to be closed by 2010. These actions are occurring as Europe is facing the consequences of the economic and financial crisis. Europe’s consumptions shrank by 5% and primary production faced a noticeable drop as well. The trade deficit was reduced by 8%, respectively due to substantial cuts in energy imports.