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ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN
DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
ENERGY CONSUMPTION IN
DEVELOPED AND DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
A conspicuous difference
in per-capita energy consumption exists between developed and
developing nations. As you might expect, developed nations consume much
more energy per person than developing nations. Although only 22.6
percent of the world's population lives in developed countries, in
1989 (the most recent data available) these people used
approximately 74 percent of the commercial energy consumed worldwide.
That means that each person in developed countries uses
approximately ten times as much energy as each person in developing
countries.
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A comparison of energy
requirements for food production clearly illustrates the energy
consumption differences between developing and developed countries.
Farmers in developing nations rely on their own physical energy or
the energy of animals to plow and tend fields. In contrast,
agriculture in developed countries involves many machines (such as
tractors, automatic loaders, and combines) that require fuel.
Additional energy is required to produce the fertilizers and
pesticides widely used in industrialized agriculture. A higher
energy input is one of the reasons that the agricultural
productivity of developed countries is greater than that of
developing countries. |
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Currently,
energy consumption is increasing worldwide, with most of the increase
occurring in developing countries. One of the goals of developing
countries is to improve their standard of living. One way to achieve
this is through economic development, a process usually accompanied by
a rise in per-capita energy consumption. Furthermore, the world's energy
requirements will also increase during the 2lst century, as its
population continues to climb. Most of the population growth will be in
developing countries.
In contrast, the population in
developed nations is more stable, and those nations per-capita energy
consumption may be at or near saturation. Also, it is possible that
additional energy demands may be more than compensated for by increased
energy efficiency of such items as appliances, automobiles, and home
insulation.
Approximately 40
percent of the energy we consume is used by industry, which encompasses
the production of chemicals, minerals, food, and additional energy
resources. Another third of our consumed energy makes buildings
comfortable through heating, air conditioning, lighting, and hot water.
The remainder of the energy we consume provides for transportation, with
the automobile being the major user
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