By Michael Smith (Veshengro)
British household energy use increased by 18% between 1970 and 2009, according to new statistics but I really hate to ask how much this study has cost that could have been answered without a study.
Information, revealed by the Office of National Statistics (ONS), show domestic energy consumption increased from 37 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 1970 to 44 million tonnes of oil equivalent in 2009.
The statistics, published in the latest chapter of the Social Trends, also show in 2008, 5.6% of all electricity consumption in the UK was from renewable resources. While this marked a considerable increase compared to 1990 when it was a lowly 1.7%, but the UK still lags behind the European Union's average of 16.7%.
In 2008 UK households paid environmental taxes of £20.9 billion, more than half of the total collected in the UK, with the rest being paid by industry. But, what did they all get in return and what did the government do with those taxes? Use them in the normal running of things, like financing a war or two, I should think.
Other highlights in the report cover issues related to the environment such as emissions, pollution, environmental taxes, household waste recycling and attitudes to the environment.
Including the fact that recycling, composting or reuse of household waste has increased considerably in England from less than 1% in 1983/84 to 40% in 2009/10. Unfortunately we still have no system of deposit of bottles or a system where they get returned in another way for a refund, as it is done in Germany, Denmark and the Netherlands, for example.
As far as energy usages, I am sure it does come to no one's surprise that it has risen since the 1970s, especially since so many more electrical and electronic appliances are now on – mops of the time – in British households.
Much of this energy usage could be reduced if households would have a renewable energy system at home with 12v DC and manufacturers would stop having to make the expensive and power hogging power supplies that have to transform 240v AC to low-voltage DC.
© 2011
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