Management of human consumption

The underlying driver of direct human impacts on the environment is human consumption. This impact is reduced by not only consuming less but by also making the full cycle of production, use and disposal more sustainable. Consumption of goods and services can be analysed and managed at all scales through the chain of consumption, starting with the effects of individual lifestyle choices and spending patterns, through to the resource demands of specific goods and services, the impacts of economic sectors, through national economies to the global economy.

In 2010, the International Resource Panel, hosted by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), published the first global scientific assessment on the impacts of consumption and production and identified priority actions for developed and developing countries. The study found that the most critical impacts are related to ecosystem health, human health and resource depletion. From a production perspective, it found that fossil-fuel combusting processes, agriculture and fisheries have the most important impacts. Meanwhile, from a final consumption perspective, it found that household consumption related to mobility, shelter, food and energy-using products cause the majority of life-cycle impacts of consumption.

Consuming Energy

The Sun's energy, stored by plants (primary producers) during photosynthesis, passes through the food chain to other organisms to ultimately power all living processes. Since the industrial revolution the concentrated energy of the Sun stored in fossilized plants as fossil fuels has been a major driver of technology which, in turn, has been the source of both economic and political power. In 2007 climate scientists of the IPCC concluded that there was at least a 90% probability that atmospheric increase in CO₂ was human-induced, mostly as a result of fossil fuel emissions but, to a lesser extent from changes in land use. Stabilizing the world’s climate will require high-income countries to reduce their emissions by 60–90% over 2006 levels by 2050 which should hold CO₂ levels at 450–650 ppm from current levels of about 380 ppm. Above this level, temperatures could rise by more than 2°C to produce “catastrophic” climate change. Reduction of current CO₂ levels must be achieved against a background of global population increase and developing countries aspiring to energy-intensive high consumption Western lifestyles.

Reducing greenhouse emissions, is being tackled at all scales, ranging from tracking the passage of carbon through the carbon cycle to the commercialization of renewable energy, developing less carbon-hungry technology and transport systems and attempts by individuals to lead carbon neutral lifestyles by monitoring the fossil fuel use embodied in all the goods and services they use.

Consuming Water

Water security and food security are inextricably linked. In the decade 1951–60 human water withdrawals were four times greater than the previous decade. This rapid increase resulted from scientific and technological developments impacting through the economy – especially the increase in irrigated land, growth in industrial and power sectors, and intensive dam construction. This altered the water cycle of rivers and lakes, affected their water quality and had a significant impact on the global water cycle. 35% of human water use is unsustainable, as aquifers and major rivers lessen, and will increase if climate change impacts become more severe, populations increase, aquifers become progressively depleted and supplies become polluted and unsanitary. From 1961 to 2001 water demand doubled - agricultural use increased by 75%, industrial use by more than 200%, and domestic use more than 400%. In the 1990s it was estimated that humans were using 40–50% of the globally available freshwater in the approximate proportion of 70% for agriculture, 22% for industry, and 8% for domestic purposes with total use increasing.

Water efficiency is being improved on a global scale by increased management, improved infrastructure, improved water productivity of agriculture, minimising water intensity of goods and services, and addressing shortages in the non-industrialised world. At the local level, people are becoming more self-sufficient by harvesting rainwater and reducing use of mains water.

Water Resources in Asia: Changes and Challenges

Water is an all-important resource for human and other life. On the vast Eurasian continent, access to water is of vital importance. In some inland areas, human and physical processes have further limited the quality and supply of water. This lesson plan uses China's water issues as case studies to examine the delicate balance between using resources to improve the standard of living for citizens and preserving resources to protect natural biodiversity and environment. Students will conduct their own case studies on important water resources, such as the Aral Sea in Central Asia, to see how those resources have influenced the life cycles of countless generations of people and the flow of people, commerce, crops, and life in distinctly different regions in Asia.

Let’s use China as our example. The water resources of China are affected by both severe water quantity shortages and severe water quality pollution. A growing population and rapid economic development as well as lax environmental oversight have increased water demand and pollution. China has responded by measures such as rapidly building out the water infrastructure and increasing regulation as well as exploring a number of further technological solutions. As Israel has always faced the same issue – lack of accessible and sustainable water sources for its population – it has often been asked by the PRC [and other countries, specifically African] to share its technology, agricultural methodology and water management expertise.

The provision of water supply and sanitation in the People's Republic of China is undergoing a massive transition while facing numerous challenges such as rapid urbanization and a widening gap between rich and poor, as well as between urban and rural areas.^[26]

The World Bank in a 2007 report stated that between 1990 and 2005 there have been large scale investments in water infrastructure. Urban water supply coverage increased from 50% to 90% but there are still seasonal water shortages in many cities. Water usage by the growing population has increased but it has decreased by industry causing a stabilization of the overall water usage level. Wastewater treatment of urban wastewater more than tripled from 15% to 52%. Installed wastewater treatment capacity grew much more quickly due to an increasing absolute amount of wastewater. Absolute release of municipal pollutants has decreased slightly since 2000. According to a 2007 article, the SEPA stated that the water quality in the central drinking water sources for major cities was "mainly good". I lived in Beijing in 1998 and no one I knew, Chinese or foreigner, drank the water. I’ve visited Shanghai several times and only boiled water was accepted by anyone to drink. Even in ‘clean’ Dalian in the north, I boiled my water – the pipes that brought it to me had who knows what in them?

And even though the reservoir was only a mile away, who knows how acidic the rain is which resupplies it, because of the Brown Cloud that hovers over most of China and India? The Asian brown cloud is a layer of air pollution that recurrently covers parts of South Asia, namely the northern Indian Ocean, India, and Pakistan. Viewed from satellite photos, the cloud appears as a giant brown stain hanging in the air over much of South Asia and the Indian Ocean every year between January and March, possibly also during earlier and later months. But that’s air, and we’re doing water right now….

Water bodies are polluted through accident spills, and continuous emissions from industrial and municipal point sources, as well as nonpoint sources such as pesticides and fertilizers.

A 2008 report about the Yellow River argued that severe pollution caused by factory discharges and sewage from fast-expanding cities has made one-third of the river unusable even for agricultural or industrial use. The report used data from more than 8,384 miles of the river, one of the longest waterways in the world, and its tributaries. The Yellow River Conservancy Committee, which surveyed more than 8,384 miles of the river in 2007, said 33.8% of the river system registered worse than level five. According to criteria used by the UN Environment Program, level five is unfit for drinking, aquaculture, industrial use and even agriculture. The report said waste and sewage discharged into the system last year totaled 4.29bn tonnes. Industry and manufacturing provided 70% of the discharge into the river, with households accounting for 23% and just over 6% coming from other sources.^[

In 2004 the World Bank warned that the scarcity of the resource would lead to "a fight between rural interests, urban interests and industrial interests on who gets water in China." In April 2005 there were dozens of injuries in Dongyang city, Zhejiang Province, due to clashes over the nearby chemical factories of the Juxi Industrial Park accused of water pollution that harmed crops and led to deformed babies being born. According the article, a quarter of the population lacked clean drinking water and less than a third of the waste was treated. China is expected to face worsening water shortages until 2030 when the population peaks.

According to an article in the Guardian, in 2005, deputy minister Qiu Baoxing stated that more than 100 out of the 660 cities had extreme water shortages. Pan Yue, deputy director of the state environment protection agency, warned that economic growth was unsustainable due to the water problems.

Chinese environmental activist and journalist Ma Jun warned in 2006 that China is facing a water crisis that includes water shortages, water pollution and deterioration in water quality. Ma argued that 400 out of 600 cities in China are facing water shortages to varying degrees, including 30 out of the 32 largest cities. Furthermore, discharges of waste water have increased continually over the years 2001-2006, so 300 million peasants’ drinking water is not safe. He warned: "In the north, due to the drying up of the surface water, the underground water has been over-extracted. The water shortage in the north could have drastic affects because almost half of China’s population lives on only 15 percent of its water. The situation is not sustainable. Though the south has abundant water, there is a lack of clean water due to serious water pollution. Even water-abundant deltas like the Yangtze and the Pearl River suffer from water shortages."

A 2006 article by the Chinese Embassy in the UK stated that approximately 300 million nationwide have no access to clean water. Almost 90% of underground water in cities are affected by pollution and as well as 70% of China’s rivers and lakes. And a 2007 China Daily article stated that large scale use of pesticide and fertilizers from agriculture also contribute to water pollution. Talk isn’t making it better, as quality of life decreases as the economy surges.

Did anyone listen?

China has had a high number of river pollution incidents recently, such as in Tai Lake, Wuxi . There was a "bloom of blue-green algae that gave off a rotten smell" stopping the main source of drinking water to 5.8 million people. By September 2007, the city had closed or given notice to more than 1,340 polluting factories, ordered to clean up by June or be permanently shut down. The closing resulted in a 15% reduction of local GDP. The severe pollution had been known for many years, but factories had been allowed to continue to operate until the crisis erupted.