i. The 21st Century Diversification of BioElectric Systems
ii. The Future of Food Waste as the Next Mass Renewable.
Research WWG Ltd. Project Innovation Director; Whitney Conti; M.Sc. University of Oxford +44(0)7927599603 whitney@wwg.co.uk
Report 2020-3000
The current global population is 7.2 billion, with about 1.3 billion living in high-income regions. In 2050, the world’s population is expected to be around 9.6 billion, reaching 10.9 billion in 2100, according to the United Nations medium-projection variant.
Climate Change, Agriculture and Food Security CCAFS: Big Facts Focus Food Security
“With a growing global population seeking increasing prosperity every year, water, food and energy consumption is likely to increase to 30-50% over the next 25 years.”
“In 2009, the number of people without access to electricity was 1.4 billion or 20% of the world’s population (IEA, 2010b).
The need to meet a 60% increase in demand for energy over the next three decades, combined with the imperative to invest in clean energy to mitigate climate change, is already making hydropower and biofuels critical parts of the development equation (Steer, 2010).
Biofuels are an increasingly prominent component of the energy mix, as exemplified by the EU target for biofuels to constitute 10% of transport fuel by 2020 (EU, 2007).
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THE POTENTIAL OF
FOOD WASTE TO ENERGY
“A new study by mechanical engineering professor Michael Webber finds that the U.S. could power Switzerland for more than a year just in the energy we lose in wasted food.
The study, co-authored by former research associate and University of Texas at Austin chemical engineering and Plan II alum Amanda Cuèllar, calculated that the U.S. could save roughly 2 percent of its total energy consumption in one year if it stopped wasting food. The number might sound small, but it’s the energy equivalent to saving 350 million barrels of oil.
”The amount of energy embedded in the food we throw away is more than all the energy we get from the corn ethanol we produce in a year, so this is a big number and it’s a big, underutilized policy option for us to consider.”
”As a nation, we’re struggling with energy issues and reducing food waste is not the only answer to problem, but it might be one of the easiest to implement,” Webber said. Many foods are good past their expiration date or are thrown away for purely cosmetic reasons.”
THE AMOUNT OF FOOD WASTED GLOBALLY
At least ⅓ of food produced for human consumption is lost or wasted globally, which amounts to 1.3 billions tons per year
40% of losses in industrialized countries occur at the retail and consumer level
3% of food waste is currently recycled
40% of Landfill content comes from food waste
CNN infographic: sources national Resources Defence Council; Stockholm International Water Institute, World Economic Forum, Foresight, US Department of Agriculture, UN Global Compact, Swedish International Water Institute, National Resources Defense Council
