Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jan 4, 2026
07:32
Monitoring Pedogenic Inorganic Carbon Accumulation Due to Weathering of Amended Silicate Minerals in Agricultural Soils.
Published on: June 4, 2021
5.6K
Clarifying Demographic Impacts on Embodied and Materially Retained Carbon toward Climate Change Mitigation
Yosuke Shigetomi1, Hajime Ohno2, Andrew Chapman3
1Faculty of Environmental Science , Nagasaki University , 1-14 Bunkyo-machi , Nagasaki 852-8521 , Japan.
Environmental Science & Technology
|October 31, 2019
Summary
This study quantifies lifestyle impacts on carbon emissions in Japan, revealing consumption hotspots. Strategies like recycling could reduce household emissions by 21% by 2030.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Economics
- Material Flow Analysis
Background:
- Modern lifestyles rely on petroleum products, contributing to carbon emissions.
- Quantifying lifestyle and household consumption impacts on carbon emissions (embodied CO2 and materially retained carbon) is crucial for effective climate policies.
Purpose of the Study:
- To develop and apply a methodology for estimating embodied CO2 (EC) and materially retained carbon (MRC) in Japan.
- To identify consumption hotspots and underlying factors driving carbon emissions from petrochemicals and woody products.
Main Methods:
- Utilized time series input-output tables, physical value tables, and national survey data.
- Employed input-output-based material flow analysis (IO-MFA) and structural decomposition analysis (SDA).
Main Results:
- Identified consumption "hot spots" linked to householder age and factors like intensity, consumption patterns, and demographics.
- Observed that demographic shifts (aging, shrinking population) decreased EC and MRC from 1990-2005, with diminishing impact over time.
Conclusions:
- Policy interventions, including enhanced recycling and carbon recovery from specific sectors like apparel, could achieve significant household emission reductions (approx. 21% by 2030).
- Highlights the need to address currently overlooked "hot spot" sectors for comprehensive emission mitigation.
Related Concept Videos
01:14The Carbon Cycle
43.1K
Carbon is the basis of all organic matter on Earth, and is recycled through the ecosystem in two primary processes: one in which carbon is exchanged among living organisms, and one in which carbon is cycled over long periods of time through fossilized organic remains, weathering of rocks, and volcanic activity. Human activities, including increased agricultural practices and the burning of fossil fuels, has greatly affected the balance of the natural carbon cycle.
43.1K
01:50Global Climate Change
28.6K
Throughout its ~4.5 billion year history, the Earth has experienced periods of warming and cooling. However, the current drastic increase in global temperatures is well outside of the Earth’s cyclic norms, and evidence for human-caused global climate change is compelling. Paleoclimatology, the study of ancient climate conditions, provides ample evidence for human-caused global climate change by comparing recent conditions with those in the past.
28.6K
01:26Design Example: Sustainability in Concrete Building
362
As the construction industry moves towards more eco-friendly practices, concrete's adaptability and its ability to incorporate sustainable features make it a key material in the drive towards greener building solutions.
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
There are multiple approaches to achieve sustainability in a commercial concrete building. For instance, construct a concrete parking area under the building, utilizing pervious concrete paver blocks in open areas to facilitate rainwater collection through an underground...
362
01:16What is Climate?
20.4K
Climate refers to the prevailing weather conditions in a specific area over an extended period. As the saying goes, “Climate is what you expect. Weather is what you get.” Climate is influenced by geographic factors, such as latitude, terrain, and proximity to bodies of water.
20.4K
00:54What are Biogeochemical Cycles?
39.0K
The most common elements in organic molecules, carbon, hydrogen, oxygen, nitrogen, sulfur, and phosphorus, are only available in the ecosystem in limited amounts. Therefore, these nutrients must be recycled through both biotic and abiotic components of the ecosystem, in processes generally called biogeochemical cycles.
39.0K
01:50Threats to Biodiversity
26.4K
There have been five major extinction events throughout geological history, resulting in the elimination of biodiversity, followed by a rebound of species that adapted to the new conditions. In the current geological epoch, the Holocene, there is a sixth extinction event in progress. This mass extinction has been attributed to human activities and is thus provisionally called the Anthropocene. In 2019 the human population reached 7.7 billion people and is projected to comprise 10 billion by...
26.4K