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Human Life and Ecological Unit
We have set the 2,000 kcal food that we need to eat each day as anEcological Unit, 1 EU and using the unit, we have been comparing things weuse in every day life, or how much energy is spent when we use them.
At this time, let's think about our lives with ecological units. We aresupposed to live about 80 years at average. If you think about biologicalenergy during the years as ecological units, it will be 365 EU in a year,so 30,000 EU in 80 years. Also you need another energy to support yourdaily life, you need it 38 times more than the fundamental energy. If youput them together, the energy we spend in a whole life would be 1.2 millionEU.
Actually, the energy consumption is various depending on the individual'slife styles. As already mentioned, there are many different people such aspeople who use air conditioners, cars, who litter much or less, who bringown lunch from home, buy lunch and so on. That is why the energyconsumption spent in a life is different. But the biological energy whichis spent an average life is about 30,000 EU, there is not so bigdifference.
The energy we spend during life is 1.2 million EU from whole human societypoint of view, but if you see each of them, it is different as you know.Let's compare the difference between people who have different life styles.
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Jomon(straw-rope pattern) Man 2,000 kcal/day.
Only fundamental energy, nofossil energy. All the energy is reproductive resources. |
Present-Day Man Mr. A
Lives in a city, uses cars, electricity, and gas so much |
Present-Day Man
lives in a suburb in nature, and has a life which cares much about the environment as possible. |
Mr. B boils water by burning trash which occupies most of the waste from ahousehold and uses gas to support the lack. Let's assume he takes batheveryday, so everyday he saves 2,000 kcal which is about the same as theenergy of a person's waste for a day, or 1 EU.
Mr. A goes to work and do shopping by car. If he uses a car 25 km a day,it will be 10 EU. Well, let's compare Jomon man with both of thepresent-day man Mr. A and Mr. B using these numbers.
Subtracting the amount of energy we calculated above for boiling the bathwater by burning trash and for not using car from the amount of Mr. A's, weget Mr. B's energy. It is only 17 % if you see the percentage, but theredefinitely is a difference. As you see, the amount of energy spent inone's whole life depends greatly to the one's life style.
Well, what gains the importance you think in our lives at most? It is
energy of fossil fuel. Fuel for cars and stoves, gas for cooking and
boiling water, and also electricity is produced by thermal power plants
which fossil energy changed its shape. If we can reduce any of these
energy, we would be able to live a little gentle to the earth.
How can we live gentle to the earth? We can not make it if we only thinkabout it as a whole or an average. We have to rethink individual way ofliving and activity, and we need to think how to use things efficiently togive no damage to the environment.
We will study about the whole life of things next time. We will takethings around us to see and think about what process they came through, howmuch energy was spent to produce, to use, and finally to scrap them.
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