Heating Oil Use Rising in the UK
Heating oil being shipped by barge before distribution! (image: ehow.co.uk)
A recent study from the Office for National Statistics found that households in the United Kingdom are using more heating oil, and energy use on the whole is rising as well, BoilerJuice.com reported this week.
The study was conducted as part of a Social Trends report looking into the environment and factors affecting it. Researchers found that households used approximately 44 million tons of oil in 2009, steadily increasing from the 37 million tons that were used annually in the early 1970s. Over half of that oil was used for home heating.
The study also estimated that greenhouse gas emissions in the UK had fallen 27% from 1990 to 2009. Their findings also showed air pollution in rural areas had fallen to levels not seen since 1987, a vast improvement on particulate pollution numbers seen over the years.
Obviously these figures don’t seem to match up with an increase in fossil fuel usage. However, lawmakers and energy officials worldwide have slowly begun launching efforts to ban use of the two dirtiest heating oils, no. 4 and no. 6. These two fuel grades create significantly more soot and carbon emissions, and should be phased out in favor of no. 2 heating oil, a cleaner option.
