• Question: how much energy does each person in the UK consume a day ?

    Asked by i love science to Andy, Chris, Harriet, Jess, Nikki on 17 Mar 2016.
    • Photo: Christopher Blanford

      Christopher Blanford answered on 17 Mar 2016:


      Hi again, i love science

      On average, we consume the equivalent energy of over 8 kg of oil a day. This is 80,000 food calories. That’s the energy in 160 Big Macs.

      The problem is that we’re still using about 4 times as much non-renewable energy as the planet can sustain. Every time I make a flight between Manchester and the US, I’ve used up my personal carbon budget for the year!

      Chris

    • Photo: Harriet Reid

      Harriet Reid answered on 17 Mar 2016:


      What Chris said! We use too much to be sustainable.

    • Photo: andy chapman

      andy chapman answered on 17 Mar 2016:


      The average is staggeringly high but probably very variable. If you cycle to work and don’t drive that is a huge energy saving. If you put a jumper on instead of the heating thats another huge saving. If you go about your normal day not trying to save energy AND you get a big mac on your way home, it appears to be something like 161 big macs worth of energy per person.

Comments