World Environmental Facts

• Resources extracted from Earth

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We are draining planet earth...

Every year we extract 55 billion tons of bio-mass, fossil energy, metal and minerals from the earth. This is almost 10 tons for every person in the world. And for people in the western world this number is much higher.

...at an increasing rate

By 2020 our extraction of bio-mass will increase by 50 percent reaching over 80 billion tons.

We cannot continue forever

Rich nations may need to cut the use of natural resources by as much as 90 percent to ensure environmental and social sustainability. At the moment, the world is moving in the opposite direction.

It could soon be too late

Natural eco-systems are losing their ability to adjust. They are reaching critical thresholds beyond which they will no longer be able to recover. Check out the Story of Stuff video to know more about the effects of our consumption of goods and services.

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• Resources extracted from Earth

  Global resource extraction includes metal ores, biomass, fossil energy, and non-metallic minerals.
  • Report: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030

• 1. We are draining planet earth...

     • Report: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030

  2. ...at an increasing rate

     • Report: OECD Environmental Outlook to 2030

  3. We cannot continue forever

     • Worldwatch Institute report: State of the World 2004, p97

  4. It could soon be too late

     • United Nations report: UNEP Yearbook 2009, p1

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• ALL FACTS
• Number of planet Earths we need
• Resources extracted from Earth
• Total waste dumped
• Fair trade products sold
• World population
• Consumers

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