Population Debate II

Thanks for the information Waq! “America is by very far the largest oil consumer” is indeed true and I am aware of that fact. However, let me explain why America is excluded.

When the world were facing energy global climate change and excess emission of greenhouse gases which were driven by the industrial revolution in the 19th century, most of the countries signed the Kyoto Protocol which were negotiated in 1997 and came into effect in 2005. The US however, did not want to be part of this effort to reduce greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system; hence they did not sign it. Excluding the US, most of the other countries have set their own milestone with regards to ways of diversifying their energy resources and cut down on their carbon emissions.

Now, why does the problem boil down to population control? Imagine an increase of the population by 10%, we need more houses and more items in the house which uses up energy. Family units are getting smaller as people do not live together as one big happy family. People’s needs are ever increasing, once one need is satisfied, they demand for more. With the advances in electronics, each household increases their usage of various electronic devices and cutting-edge gadgets. Do you see a problem with people wanting to increase their standards of living? These devices consume way too much energy!

When energy is generated, its efficiency is not 100%. Typically, efficiencies vary from 60% to roughly 90% in the best case scenario. We should realise, for every 100MW produced, at least 10% or 10MW is dissipated in the form of heat to the atmosphere. This is apparent from the law of energy conservation. So, every time we generate electricity or use of energy, at least 10% of heat is released, leading to increases in temperature. This difference in temperature is experienced mainly in highly dense areas, such as central London where it is about 1 or 2 degrees warmer than zone 2 or 3.

In conclusion, the increase of population does cause increase in the demand for scarce resources and higher energy consumption.