Intensity of use (IOU) for nine commodities in the United States normalized to 1970. (IMAGE)

Programme for the Human Environment, The Rockefeller University

Intensity of use (IOU) for nine commodities in the United States normalized to 1970.

Caption

For much of the 20th Century, absolute commodity demand (ABS) for nearly all 100 materials studied grew steadily as did demand compared to economic activity, called intensity of use (IOU) for many of them. But the decoupling trend began around 1970 – coincidentally, the year in which Americans observed the first Earth Day.

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The Rockefeller University Programme for the Human Environment

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