Visualizing Environmental Science

420 CHAPTER 17 Nonrenewable Energy Resources

© Jeremy Horner/Corbis

*1 gigajoule = 1 billion joules

Per person commercial energy consumption

(gigajoules* of energy), 2009

0

100

200

300

400

500

Canada United

States

Sweden Mexico India Nigeria

Total energy consumption (millionsof barrels of oil equivalent per day)

Year

0

100

200

300

400

1990 2000 2010 2020 2030

Developing countries

Highly developed countries

Based on data from the Energy InformationAdministration (EIA), part of the U.S. Department ofEnergy (DOE).

Adapted from Figure 13-3a in Harris, J.M.

Environmen-

tal and Natural Resource Economics: A ContemporaryApproach

, second edition. Houghton Mifflin (2006) and

based on data from the World Bank and the EnergyInformation Administration (EIA).

a. Annual per person commercial energy consumption in
selected countries.

b. Projected total energy consumption, to 2030.

1. Compare per person and total energy
   consumption in highly developed and
   developing countries.

H

uman society depends on energy. We use it
to warm our homes in winter and cool them
in summer; to grow, store, and cook our
food; to light our homes; to extract and pro-
cess natural resources for manufacturing items we use
daily; and to transport people and materials. Many of the

Energy Consumption

LEARNING OBJECTIVE

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Electric products for sale at the Chandi Chowk bazaar, Delhi, India.

conveniences of modern living depend on a ready supply

of energy.

Per person energy consumption in highly developed

countries far exceeds that in developing countries (ˆ}-

ÕÀiʣǰ£). In the United States, industry uses 31 percent

of the nation’s total energy, buildings such as homes and

offices consume 41 percent, and transportation uses 28

percent. In developing countries, a much larger fraction

is used at the household level.

World energy consumption increased every year since

1982 except between 2008 and 2009, when it decreased

slightly due to a global economic downturn. Most of the

increase occurred in developing countries. From 2010 to

2011, for example, energy consumption increased world-

wide by about 2.2 percent, most of it in China and India

(ˆ}ÕÀiʣǰÓ). A goal of most developing countries is to

improve the standard of living through economic develop-

ment, a process usually accompanied by a rise in per per-

son energy consumption. Furthermore, the world’s energy

requirements will continue to increase during the 21st

century, as the human population becomes larger, particu-

larly in developing countries.

In contrast, population size in highly developed

nations is more stable. Per person energy consump-

tion in such countries as Japan and Sweden is decreas-

ing as technological advances increase the energy

efficiency of appliances, automobiles, and home insu-

lation (see Chapter 18). In countries like the United

State and Canada, where energy has been plentiful and

inexpensive, more energy is used to achieve the same

standard of living experienced in other countries.

1. How does per person energy consumption
   compare in highly developed and developing
   countries?

Interpreting Data

How many times more energy does the typical person

in the United States use than does the typical person in

Sweden? India?

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