ABSTRACT
From the perspective of environmental sustainability, there were at least four profound and interrelated changes ushered in by the Industrial Revolution: a rapid increase in the fl ow of materials; a massive increase in the use of energy, particularly fossil fuels; the consequent release of large quantities of anthropogenic greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide; and the generation and release of a broad range of industrial-based air and water pollutants. Figure 3-1 displays global materials extraction measured from 1900 to 2005 (https://www.ggdc.net/maddison/; Krausmann et al. 2009) Figures 3-2a and 3-2b show the dramatic increase in energy consumption in the United Kingdom (Maddison 2006a and 2006b; Mitchell 2007a; Mitchell and Deane 1962; Warde 2007) and the United States (Maddison 2006; Mitchell 2007; U.S. Dept. of Commerce 1975) over the past several centuries. Both of these fi gures also display the changing mix of fuel types as fossil fossils established a dominant role in both economies. Figures 3-3 and 3-4 illustrate the inevitable rise
F I G U R E 3 . 1
F I G U R E 3 . 2 A
F I G U R E 3 . 2 B
F I G U R E 3 . 3
F I G U R E 3 . 4
in greenhouse gases, most notably carbon dioxide, as a consequence of this energy consumption (ORNL). The recent apparent decrease in GHG gas emissions in the U.K. is due to two major factors: the backing out of coal by natural gas, and the outsourcing of carbon-intensive manufacturing to overseas producers such as China ) in a process described as “carbon laundering” or “carbon washing” (NEF 2007).
