“Fossil-fuel combustion by-products are the world’s most significant threat to children’s health … and are major contributors to global inequality and environmental injustice” (Reference 1). But what are fossil fuels? According to National Geographic, “fossil fuels are made from decomposing plants and animals. These fuels are found in Earth’s crust and contain carbon and hydrogen, which can be burned for energy” (Reference 2) however, once these fuels are burnt this creates air pollution causing a lot of issues for society and the environment. “The emissions include a myriad of toxic air pollutants and carbon dioxide (CO2) … Impacts include impairment of cognitive and behavioural development, respiratory illness, and other chronic diseases.” (Reference 1) Both high and low-income countries are experiencing the effects of fossil-fuel pollution and “worldwide in 2011 fossil fuels represented 82% of the total primary energy supply” (Reference 1).
The effects on children
“Children’s health is profoundly affected over a long period from foetuses to adolescence due to their immature physiology, metabolism, and unique behaviours and exposures.” (Reference 3) Children are more vulnerable than adults “due to their rapid growth, dynamic developmental programming, immature detoxification, immune, and thermoregulatory systems. Children breathe more air per kilogram of body weight than adults and require three to four times the amount of food on a body-weight basis than adults, they are more exposed to pollutants in air and food.” (Reference 1) The WHO (World Health Organisation) estimate that “40% of the burden of environmentally related disease and more than 88% of the burden of climate change is borne by children under 5” (Reference 1).
The effects on the environment
“When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide a greenhouse gas into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming. Already the average global temperature has increased by 1 degree … In 2018, 89% of global CO2 emissions came from the fossil fuels industry.” (Reference 4) Some other ways that fossil fuels affect the environment are:
- “Releasing the greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2) and nitrous oxide (N20) into the atmosphere, which intensifies the greenhouse effect (the re-radiation of heat in the atmosphere), increasing the Earth’s average air temperatures. These greenhouse gases can remain in the atmosphere for decades to hundreds of years.” (Reference 5)
- “Changing patterns of snow and ice melt. Airborne particles (especially soot) that settle on snow increase the absorption of sunlight due to their dark colour, heating the surface of the snow and causing melting. In certain parts of the world, the presence of the soot (in addition to global warming) has caused winter ice and snow to melt earlier and faster today than in previous decades, which also changes local patterns of freshwater availability.” (Reference 5).
Data Activism
As the combustion of fossil fuels causes substantial environmental and health concerns, my research endeavours have been steered towards the realm of data activism. Recognising the longstanding concerns posed by fossil fuel combustion, I have chosen to focus my analysis on the comparative assessment of fossil fuels between two countries- the United Kingdom and Japan. Motivated by a dataset, I observed a noteworthy disparity in the emission levels between these two countries, specifically Japan which showed a significantly lower volume of fossil fuel materials, prompting a deeper exploration into the contributing factors underlying this discrepancy. This website aims to address this issue by using data activism to analyse datasets to show patterns/ anomalies and allows for visitors to comment using a comment section to give feedback and opinions.
“Data activism pursues practices such as obfuscation and encryption to resist corporate or state surveillance and employs campaigns, training and software to strengthen the agency of datafied citizens… Data activism shares many features with other concepts such as tactical media (Garcia and Lovink, 1997), which built on De Certeau’s (2014/1984) theory of people’s tactical responses to everyday texts and technologies to resist, without escaping, repressive realities… Data activism projects, are like tactical media ‘always in becoming, performative and pragmatic, involved in a continual process of questioning the premises of the channels they work with” (Reference 6).
Japan’s Fossil Fuel Pollution
“The world’s third largest economy ranks fifth in greenhouse gas emissions, spewing roughly 1.1 billion tonnes of CO2 annually from energy generation and process emissions, according to the Energy Institute.” (Reference 7) Japan is working hard to reduce its total carbon emissions as “Japan aims to cut total carbon emissions by 46% by 2030 from 2013 levels and has pledged to become carbon neutral by 2050” (Reference 7). Japan has a strained state of the “national power system due to the sharp drop in nuclear power generation since the 2011 Fukushima disaster.” (Reference 7) After a tsunami caused half of the reactors to meltdown, “power producers were forced to dial up generation from fossil fuels, mainly coal and natural gas, which accounted for 73% of Japan’s electricity in 2020” (Reference 7). However, “Japan ranks 6th in total renewable power generation, has limited spare land suitable for large renewable installations, and is focusing on rooftop solar systems as a key means of boosting renewable power generation over the near term. Over the longer term. Japan is also targeting increases in wind power generation, especially from offshore sites” (Reference 7).
United Kingdom’s Fossil Fuel Pollution
“The UK energy market is dominated by the use of oil and gas, together responsible for around 80% of total energy consumed (Reference 8). Greenhouse gas emissions in the UK have been cut by 41% since 1990 due to the reduced use of coal. “Improvements to industrial processes have also helped to reduce emissions of nitrous oxide and fluorinated gases. Better waste management has played an important role in lowering emissions, including capturing landfill waste. However, emissions from transport, the residential sector and agriculture have yet to decrease significantly.” (Reference 8) The largest sources of emissions in the UK come from transport (34%), then energy supply (26%), then the residential sector (19%) and then 18% from business. Both countries has reduced their fossil fuel emissions hence why the trends in the graphs further in the website gradually goes down. Some clean energy trends in the UK are:
-“ Low-carbon forms of energy in the UK include nuclear power, renewable electricity (hydro, wind, solar, biomass and biogas), and renewable heat (biomass, biogas and heat pumps). Low carbon power accounted for more than half of the GB total in both 2018 and 2019, of which the majority (36% is renewable)” (Reference 8).
-“ Wind is now the UK’s second largest source of generation, behind natural gas. This is followed closely by nuclear power. Biomass output is also increasing, as coal-fired power stations have been converted to burn plant material, often imported from overseas.” (Reference 8).
Reference list
Reference 1: Link to National Library of Medicine
Reference 2: Link to National Geographic
Reference 3: Link to Science Direct
Reference 4: Link to Client Earth
Reference 5: Link to UGC Berkeley
Reference 6: Link to Journals Sagepub
Reference 7: Link to Reuters
Reference 8: Link to Engery&Climate