October 2005

Statistics, Statistics And More Statistics

A slightly irreverent but interesting look at some of the worlds environmental statistics.

Population Growth

UK population has grown 20 per cent since 1950. There are an estimated 60 million people living in the UK (mid-2005), and numbers are still rising. Population growth = natural increase (births minus deaths) + net migration, and migration also affects the number of births. UK population is now growing by the equivalent of a city larger than Cardiff every year, at an annual rate of 0.64%.

At an annual growth rate of 0.4% a year our population would pass 200 million by 2310. The latest (mid-2004 based) official population projection shows ever rising numbers. Unless things change our population may grow by another 9 million to reach 69.2 million by 2050, and fail to peak until 2074.

Economics

The world’s fishers harvested a record 133 million tons of fish and shellfish from streams, oceans, and other water bodies in 2002 - nearly seven times the global harvest in 1950.
Global passenger car production grew 4.5 percent in 2004, to an estimated 44.1 million units. Production of SUVs and other "light trucks" also reached a new record of 18 million, up some 6 percent over 2003.
Every hour, the world spends more than $100 million on soldiers, weapons, and ammunition.
World oil consumption surged by 3.4 percent in 2004, the fastest rate of increase in 16 years yet production is falling in 33 of the 48 largest oil-producing countries, including 6 of 11 OPEC members.

Our Environment

Nearly one in four mammal species is in serious decline, mainly due to human activities.
An estimated half of the world’s wetlands have been lost since 1900, and destruction continues apace.
Global forest cover stands at approximately half the original extent of 8,000 years ago.
A 2000 World Bank study projected that on average 1.8 million people would die prematurely each year between 2001 and 2020 because of air pollution.
Global ice melt has led to hunger and weight loss among polar bears, and has altered the habitats as well as feeding and breeding patterns of penguins and seals.
The U.N. Environment Programme projects 50 million environmental refugees worldwide by 2010.

What Are We To Believe?

Given the massive growth of the internet and the power of pressure groups willing to use statistics to promote their own interests it is becoming more and more difficult for us to take in all the statistics that we are presented with.

How many of the above statistics are correct, they may all be correct but do we have the mechanics to check them?

The reliability of the information we present is currently being challenged as part of the growing Corporate Social Responsibility agenda. Is your organisation acting in the most socially responsible way and if it is are you getting your message across to the people that matter?

For more information on CSR and the need for Operating and Financial Reviews (OFR) contact Steve Stones on 024 7632 3260.

To have a look at how quickly statistics can change I recommend you have a look at the world meter at http://www.worldometers.info/

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