Global Environment Note #01
“Note on Global Environment from Hokkaido” is a special series that will send you a report of Environment of the world, Japan and Hokkaido NOW, and give you hints to begin Eco-friendly life Now, to reduce the GHG (Green House Gas) by 6%, in order to avoid the global warming.
The key for our first series is “1kg”
We will have G8 Summit Conference at Lake Toya in July 2008.One of the most important themes in the Summit will be a reduction of Green House Gas to stop the "Global warming".To support the Summit, Hokkaido News Paper Company starts " the Earth-friendly Eco-project" on behalf of the main media in Hokkaido.Let's face to the Earth Now, Look at the Earth Now, and Let's begin your Earth-friendly actions !
How much is 1kg of CO2?
1kg=100 soccer ball
1kg of CO
2 is about 500 l (m3) in its volume, which is equivalent to about 100 soccer balls with 22cm in diameter. You might be surprised at such a big figure, but it actually is quite a familiar number. Average human being exhales about 1kg CO
2 in a day.
Reduction of CO2 equivalent to 20,44 billion soccer balls per year
If a family of 4 persons reduces 1Kg CO
2 per person per day, this corresponds to 100x4=400 soccer balls. Calculated per 1 year, 365 days, this would amount to a CO
2 reduction equivalent to 146,000 soccer balls. Since the population of Hokkaido roughly totals 5 million (June 2007 census), if each habitant in Hokkaido tried to reduce 1Kg of CO
2 per day, we could reduce the equivqlent of 20,44 billion soccer balls of CO
2 per year !
How to reduce 1kg of CO2 -----some hints
On use of energy and resources -----
CO
2 is emitted when we use electricity, gas and water in our everyday life.
For example, since electricity is generated by thermal power, when we burn the gas for heating water, or use a tap water which is transported by electricity, we consume electricity which generates CO
2 emission.
Also pet bottles and other materials made from petroleum require much energy during the production process. Simply using these petroleum-based products can increase CO
2 emissions.
Ｒeduce CO2 by saving energy and resource in your daily life
The key of CO
2 reduction is to save energy and resources by thoroughly reducing consumption in your daily life. Please reconsider your daily consumption of energy and resources, and begin saving resources even through small actions. This leads to a big reduction of CO
2.
Where can you fine 1 Kg of CO2 in your daily life ?
- ● 7 pet bottles of 500 ml （CO2 emissions from production ）
- ● 80 minutes of using of the gas burner on high (city gas stove)
- ● one bathtub’s worth of hot water (about 200 l heated by boiler)
- ● driving 3 Km drive in a car with an 1800cc engine (rough estimate)
CO2 emissions from Hokkaido are 1.3 times higher than the Japanese average!
The relationship between living in Hokkaido and CO2 emissions
As inhabitants of Hokkaido, the challenge to reduce 1Kg of CO
2 per person per day is a key issue for us. But annual CO
2 emissions per person amount to 3.62 tons. This figure is 1.3 times higher than the Japanese avergae. Why ? There are two reasons: a long period of heating during the winter, and longer and more frequent driving because Hokkaido has the widest surface area of all prefectures in Japan.
Hokkaido aims for a 9.2% reduction of CO2
Hokkaido established the “Action Plan to Prevent Global Warming” in June 2000. Based on the levels of all Hokkaido CO
2 emissions in 2000 and anticipating a rise in levels of emissions, the plan aims to reduce GHG(greenhouse gas) emissions to 9.2% of 1990 levels by 2010. Also, on the occasion of the 2008 Toyako Summit, Hokkaido will launch the “Hokkaido Environmental Declaration” both domestically and internationally.
Let's reduce 1Kg of CO2 together!
125,500,000 persons x one year x 「-1kg」= ?
If you try to reduce 1 kg CO
2 /day/person, you can reduce 365kg of CO
2 in one year.
If all Japanese citizens (125,500,000 persons as of April 2007) do this together, we can reduce 45.6 billion kg = 45.000.000 tons of CO
2 per year. Through this action, we can achieve the aim of an annual CO
2 reduction of 37,000,000 tons per year at home.
We have only five years and three months until the Kyoto Protocol expires. We really need the cooperation of each person now. There is no time to lose.
Take the CO2 reductions “challenge”!
Japan’s Ministry of the Environment is now promoting the “Team -6%” challenge on its website as the “Declaration Challenge to reduce CO
2 by1Kg/day/person.” Please visit the website, choose the CO
2 reduction selection, and receive a “Challenge Declaration Card” for taking the challenge. Begin your CO
2 reduction action plan by declaring your challenge today !
URL link for the declaring your Challenge:
→
http://www.team-6.jp/