The World in 2030

The World in 2030 121
As Jeremy Rifkin explains in ‘The Hydrogen Economy’:
One third of the world’s agricultural land has been
converted from growing food grains for human consumption
to growing feed grain for cattle and other
livestock. Cattle production is now the most energyconsuming
agricultural activity in the world. It takes
the equivalent of a gallon of gasoline to produce a
pound of grain-fed beef in the US. To sustain the
yearly beef requirements of an average family of four
people requires the consumption of more than 260
gallons of fossil fuel. When that fuel is burned, it
releases 2.5 tons of additional CO 2
into the atmosphere
– as much CO 2
as the average car emits in six
months of normal operation.
Shipping
Shipping is a transport sector producing significant carbon
emissions but one which is rarely discussed (and one which
is often omitted from domestic climate change recommendations
and legislation). But, although relatively small, shipping
is the fastest growing of all transport sectors, according
to The Economist:
World merchandise trade (shipping) is growing at 15
per cent a year. Trade between China, India, America
and Europe accounts for 65 per cent of the 250mplus
containers moved around the world each year.
Freight rates rose by nearly one-third in the four