SayPro Material flows The impact of global resource extraction

Climate change as discussed at the climate talks in Durban is just one of the complex impact that humans have on the natural environment. The history of humanity is closely linked to benefiting from (or exploiting) the natural environment in order to improve living conditions. “Stone, Iron, Bronze and Steel Ages – the names of these periods have been chosen according to the main materials in use“ (see materialflows.net). Over a long period in human history, this behaviour had only little impact on the environment from a global perspective (not least because there were much fewer people around). This has changed considerably since the industrial revolution started spreading across the globe from its British roots. “The industrial revolution marked a fundamental change of the energy system based on fossil fuels and saw the introduction of yet more materials. Coal, steel and aluminium allowed to tremendously increase output and efficiency. With the start of the commercial exploitation of crude oil in the late 19th century, the doors have been opened to a new era which one day might be called the ‘Oil Age’” (see materialflows.net). With growing populations, and an increasingly more intensive and extensive use of natural resources, the human impact on the environment has reached an unprecedented level which has such an impact that the environment becomes considerably transformed by human action. This led to the proclamation of a new geolocial era, the Anthropocene, which pays tribute to the “influence of human behavior on the Earth’s atmosphere in recent centuries“, which is said to be “so significant as to constitute a new geological era for its lithosphere” (quoted from Wikipedia).Extraction of natural resources is one component of this change (amongst many other factors), which often stands at the beginning of the chain of changing and influencing the natural environment. Fossil fuels, minerals, metal ores, and other resources are taken out of their natural deposits, which already has an impact on the environment at the places where they are, and are then burned, processed, and eventually dumped in manifold transformed ways. Material extraction and the subsequent flows of them during their ‘human lifecycle’ (before we regard them as useless waste) are an important element in the understanding of our impact on the natural environment. “A dematerialisation strategy, i.e. a dramatic absolute reduction of our material consumption, will be inevitable – especially in industrialised countries – taking into account the concept of ‘environmental space’. This concept claims that the total amount of natural resources that humankind can use without damaging the global ecosystems is limited” (see materialflows.net).In a collaboration with Worldmapper, the Materialflows project has released a series of cartograms as part of their online portal for material flow data which gives an insight into the shares and dimensions of global resource exploitation. On the basis of the MFA-database we created a series of cartograms where territories are re-sized to different categories of material flows. Here are two examples from the map series that demonstrate some of the aspects investigated in the project. The two maps show the total resource extraction and the fossil fuel extraction in 2007:Under the new statutory requirement to evaluate the replacement of hazardous chemicals with less dangerous alternatives, enterprises are obliged to take more responsibility for preventing damage caused by products containing dangerous chemicals.The requirement was introduced as an amendment to the Product Control Act on 1 January 2000 (see the right-hand column) and is intended as a general preventive strategy to reduce the risks associated with the use of chemicals. It lays down a rule that must be applied whenever it is possible to choose between different chemicals, and applies both to products containing hazardous chemicals and to pure substances and preparations.The purpose of applying the substitutionprinciple is:• to reduce the risk to health and the environmentrepresented by the use of products• to transfer more responsibility to people who handleproducts containing hazardous substances• to make users aware of how selecting the rightproducts can help to prevent damage to health andthe environment• to oblige all those who use products for occupationalpurposes to make systematic efforts to findsubstitutes for dangerous chemicals• to replace hazardous chemicals with less dangeroussubstances and reduce the use of hazardoussubstances.Who is required to apply the substitution principle?The substitution principle applies to all enterprises that use products containing hazardous substances, and to chemicals used in the general running of a business as well as those used as constituents of products. All enterprises must systematically evaluate the chemicals they use.The requirement to apply the substitution principle applies to both private- and public-sector enterprises, and to both manufacturing and service industries.Reducing the risk of damage caused by hazardous productsmany products release substantial amounts of chemicals to the environment during their life cycle – during production, during use and after they have ended up as waste. General wear and tear is one way in which chemicals are released from products during use. When products have been discarded as waste, hazardous substances may be released from landfills or during waste incineration, with flue gases or ash.People may be exposed to these substances during all phases of a product’s life cycle. The exact health or environmental problems that may be caused by a product depend on the properties of the substances it contains and their quantities.It is important to reduce the risk of damage arising from the use of hazardous products as much as possible. Health and environmental hazards during production, the use of products and waste disposal must be minimised.What the authorities expect your enterprise to doAn enterprise must incorporate the work required in connection with substitution into its system of internal control. The Regulations relating to Systematic Health, Environmental and Safety Activities in Enterprises, or Internal Control Regulations, lay down the duty for an enterprise to maintain a system of internal control. They also require all enterprises to survey risks and problems associated with their activities, carry out a risk assessment on this basis, and then draw up plans and measures to reduce the level of risk.The requirement to apply the substitution principle means that enterprises must use their choice of chemicals or products as one method of risk reduction.The authorities also require enterprises to provide documentation of their substitution efforts. This means that an evaluation of whether hazardous chemicals can be replaced should always include a written report.During inspections and audits, the Norwegian Pollution Control Authority will check that enterprises that are required to maintain a system of internal control are systematically evaluating their use of chemicals and taking steps to minimise the use of hazardous chemicalsPlease visit our website at www.saypro.online Email: info@saypro.online Email: info@saypro.online Call: + 27 11 071 1903 WhatsApp: + 27 84 313 7407. 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