“The money economy thus leaves a large ecological footprint, defined as the amount of land and resources required to meet a typical consumer's needs. For example, with only about 4% of the world's population, the United States, the largest money economy, consumes in excess of one-quarter of the world's energy and materials and generates in excess of 25 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions.” WorldNeedsStatesEnergyUnitedUnited StatesEconomyLandExampleMaterialsAmountPercentResourcesPopulationDefinedConsumersGasQuartersExcessConsumerismTypicalEmissionsEcologicalFootprintOverconsumptionGreenhousesGreenhouse GasesEcological Footprints Author:Stuart L. Hart
“The total efforts of the last 20 years of climate policy has likely reduced global emissions by less than 1 percent, or about 250 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year.” YearsLastsEffortMillionsPolicyPercentClimateCarbonEmissionsCarbon DioxideMetricsKyotoKyoto Protocol Author:Bjorn Lomborg
“Although population and consumption are societal issues, technology is the business of business. If economic activity must increase tenfold over what it is today to support a population nearly double its current size, then technology will have to reduce its impact twenty-fold merely to keep the planet at its current levels of environmental impact. For example, to stabilize the climate we may have to reduce real carbon emissions by as much as 80 percent, while simultaneously growing the world economy by an order of magnitude.” IfsWorldMayRealTodayOrderLevelsTechnologySupportEconomyIssuesGrowingEconomicExamplePlanetsActivityPercentIncreaseTwentiesImpactClimateEnvironmentalSizePopulationCurrentsSustainabilityConsumptionCarbonFoldsEmissionsMagnitudeWorld EconomyCarbon EmissionsEnvironmental Impact Book:Capitalism at the Crossroads: Next Generation Business Strategies for a Post-Crisis World Source: Capitalism at the Crossroads: Next Generation Business Strategies for a Post-Crisis World
“As currently written, the laws require certain manufacturers and users of such chemicals to report any and all environmental releases-either accidental or routine-to air, water, or soil. The Toxics Release Inventory is the main registry of such events, and it is available to the public through the Environmental Protection Agency. It is hardly comprehensive. Toxic emissions reported to the federal government are thought to account for only 5 percent of all chemical releases.” GovernmentLawCertainWaterWrittenAirEventsPercentAccountsEnvironmentalAvailableProtectionReleaseAgencySoilReportsRoutineChemicalsToxicUsersPollutionFederal GovernmentComprehensiveEmissionsEnvironmental ProtectionInventory Author:Sandra Steingraber
“European carmakers pledged to reduce CO2 emissions by 25 percent from 1995 to 2008. We kept our word and reduced the value even more. This is not the result of short-term gimmickry. We decided years ago to develop the relevant models and engines, otherwise we wouldn't be able to offer them today.” YearsTodayAbleValuesTermResultsOffersModelsPercentYears AgoDecidedEnginesRelevantShort TermEmissionsOur WordsCo2Co2 Emissions Author:Norbert Reithofer
“Not wasting energy. It is the least sexy, but the single most important and always the least expensive. You would be very interested in a report by the McKinsey consulting firm that concluded that 40 percent of everything that we have to do to mitigate our emissions are net economic winners. They are cost effective and the most cost effective is not wasting energy. That's actually going to be the largest part of this whole journey, I believe - using less energy with the same beneficial results.” BelieveImportantWholeWould BeEnergyI BelieveResultsJourneyEconomicCostPercentSexyWinnerFirmExpensiveReportsBeneficialEmissionsConsulting Author:Jay Inslee
“It's important to see things in perspective. Automobile traffic is responsible for only 12 percent of total CO2 emissions. One should be able to point this out without being accused of changing the subject.” ShouldImportantAbleSubjectsPerspectivePercentResponsibleTrafficAccusedAutomobileEmissionsCo2Being AccusedCo2 Emissions Author:Martin Winterkorn
“We need a firm cap on carbon emissions from fossil fuels. No coal, oil, or gas could enter the economy until the buyer had a permit. All permits would be auctioned by the federal government, and the number of permits auctioned would be decreased by three percent per year. Permits could be traded, but they could not be created out of whole cloth by companies that plant forests or dump iron filings at sea.” NeedsYearsWholeGovernmentWould BeThreeNumbersCompanyEconomySeaPercentPlantOilForestsFirmFuelGasIronPermitCarbonFederal GovernmentCoalFossilsCapsFossil FuelEmissionsDumpBuyersFilingCarbon Emissions Author:Denis Hayes
“Denmark, the Netherlands and Germany have detailed plans to cut their greenhouse emissions by 20 to 50 percent.” CuttingPlansPercentGermanyEmissionsGreenhousesDenmarkNetherlands Author:Donella Meadows