China and India are often cited as being the major cause of pollution / climate change etc due to their very large populations and increasing demand for resources.
Of course this is quite true - but there is another interesting way of slicing the cake. James Hansen is a climatologist working for Nasa - see link and has published a lot of data on the subject. In terms of responsibility it is possible to look at how many resources an individual in any one country takes today
The curve makes those of us living in Europe feel quite smug. Especially in my native UK.
Before we go back to our everyday existence safe in the knowledge its not us - its them - it is worth looking at how many resources you use individually. i.e how many resources per person are used?
However - the historical picture - from the beginning of the Industrial Revolution to today tells a different and interesting story. So we Brits should feel some extra responsibility for leading the way - as our current standard of living is a result of chewing our way through a hell of a lot of fossil fuels through the years. So maybe we should take the lead after all...?
No comments:
Post a Comment