Green
Visualizing the Accumulation of Human-Made Mass on Earth
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Visualizing the Accumulation of Human-Made Mass on Earth
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The world is not getting any bigger but the human population continues to grow, consuming more and more resources and altering the very environment we rely on.
In 2020, the amount of human-made mass, or anthropogenic mass, exceeded for the first time the dry weight (except for water and fluids) of all life on Earth, including humans, animals, plants, fungi, and even microorganisms.
In this infographic based on a study published in Nature, we break down the composition of all human-made materials and the rate of their production.
A Man-made Planet
Anthropogenic mass is defined as the mass embedded in inanimate solid objects made by humans that have not been demolished or taken out of service—which is separately defined as anthropogenic mass waste.
Over the past century or so, human-made mass has increased rapidly, doubling approximately every 20 years. The collective mass of these materials has gone from 3% of the world’s biomass in 1900 to being on par with it today.
While we often overlook the presence of raw materials, they are what make the modern economy possible. To build roads, houses, buildings, printer paper, coffee mugs, computers, and all other human-made things, it requires billions of tons of fossil fuels, metals and minerals, wood, and agricultural products.
Human-Made Mass
Every year, we extract almost 90 billion tons of raw materials from the Earth. A single smartphone, for example, can carry roughly 80% of the stable elements on the periodic table.
The rate of accumulation for anthropogenic mass has now reached 30 gigatons (Gt)—equivalent to 30 billion metric tons—per year, based on the average for the past five years. This corresponds to each person on the globe producing more than his or her body weight in anthropogenic mass every week.
At the top of the list is concrete. Used for building and infrastructure, concrete is the second most used substance in the world, after water.
Human-Made Mass | Description | 1900 (mass/Gt) | 1940 (mass/Gt) | 1980 (mass/Gt) | 2020 (mass/Gt) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Concrete | Used for building and infrastructure, including cement, gravel and sand | 2 | 10 | 86 | 549 |
Aggregates | Gravel and sand, mainly used as bedding for roads and buildings | 17 | 30 | 135 | 386 |
Bricks | Mostly composed of clay and used for constructions | 11 | 16 | 28 | 92 |
Asphalt | Bitumen, gravel and sand, used mainly for road construction/pavement | 0 | 1 | 22 | 65 |
Metals | Mostly iron/steel, aluminum and copper | 1 | 3 | 13 | 39 |
Other | Solid wood products, paper/paperboard, container and flat glass and plastic | 4 | 6 | 11 | 23 |
Bricks and aggregates like gravel and sand also represent a big part of human-made mass.
Although small compared to other materials in our list, the mass of plastic we’ve made is greater than the overall mass of all terrestrial and marine animals combined.
As the rate of growth of human-made mass continues to accelerate, it could become triple the total amount of global living biomass by 2040.
Can We Work It Out?
While the mass of humans is only about 0.01% of all biomass, our impact is like no other form of life on Earth. We are one of the few species that can alter the environment to the point of affecting all life.
At the current pace, the reserves of some materials like fossil fuels and minerals could run out in less than 100 years. As a result, prospectors are widening their search as they seek fresh sources of raw materials, exploring places like the Arctic, the deep sea, and even asteroids.
As the world population continues to increase, so does the pressure on the natural environment. It is an unavoidable fact that consumption will increase, but in an era of net-zero policies and carbon credits, accounting for the human impact on the environment will be more important than ever.
Green
Ranking the Top 15 Countries by Carbon Tax Revenue
This graphic highlights France and Canada as the global leaders when it comes to generating carbon tax revenue.
Top 15 Countries by Carbon Tax Revenue
This was originally posted on our Voronoi app. Download the app for free on iOS or Android and discover incredible data-driven charts from a variety of trusted sources.
Carbon taxes are designed to discourage CO2 emissions by increasing the cost of carbon-intensive activities and incentivizing the adoption of cleaner energy alternatives.
In this graphic we list the top 15 countries by carbon tax revenue as of 2022. The data is from the World Bank’s State and Trends of Carbon Pricing Report, published in April 2023.
France and Canada Lead in Global Carbon Tax Revenue
In 2022, the top 15 countries generated approximately $30 billion in revenue from carbon taxes.
France and Canada lead in this regard, accounting for over half of the total amount. Both countries have implemented comprehensive carbon pricing systems that cover a wide range of sectors, including transportation and industry, and they have set relatively high carbon tax rates.
Country | Government revenue in 2022 ($ billions) |
---|---|
🇫🇷 France | $8.9 |
🇨🇦 Canada | $7.8 |
🇸🇪 Sweden | $2.3 |
🇳🇴 Norway | $2.1 |
🇯🇵 Japan | $1.8 |
🇫🇮 Finland | $1.7 |
🇨🇠Switzerland | $1.6 |
🇬🇧 United Kingdom | $0.9 |
🇮🇪 Ireland | $0.7 |
🇩🇰 Denmark | $0.5 |
🇵🇹 Portugal | $0.5 |
🇦🇷 Argentina | $0.3 |
🇲🇽 Mexico | $0.2 |
🇸🇬 Singapore | $0.1 |
🇿🇦 South Africa | $0.1 |
In Canada, the total carbon tax revenue includes both national and provincial taxes.
While carbon pricing has been recognized internationally as one of the more efficient mechanisms for reducing CO2 emissions, research is divided over what the global average carbon price should be to achieve the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement, which aims to limit global warming to 1.5–2°C by 2100 relative to pre-industrial levels.
A recent study has shown that carbon pricing must be supported by other policy measures and innovations. According to a report from Queen’s University, there is no feasible carbon pricing scenario that is high enough to limit emissions sufficiently to achieve anything below 2.4°C warming on its own.
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