Estimated Index of Ecological Footprints of Energy (Electricity and Natural Gas) and Water Consumption of Household Sector in 22 Districts of Tehran

Subject Areas : Environmental Economics

Zahra Abedi ¹ , parisa soltani khamseh ²

1 - Assistant Professor of Environmental Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Science and Research Branch of Islamic Azad University, Tehran, Iran.
2 - Phd environmental economics, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Islamic Azad University Science and Research Branch, Tehran, Iran. *(Corresponding Author)

Received: 2017-10-21 Accepted : 2019-02-24 Published : 2020-01-21

Keywords: Household sector, 22 areas of Tehran, Water and energy ecological footprints, environmental capacity, ecological gap,

Abstract :

Backgrounds and objectives: Population growth and excessive consumption of natural resources for the continuation of economic welfare, in addition to destroying the ecosystem has caused a shortage of life on the planet is vital to prevent any shortage of access to natural resources continue. This article estimates the ecological footprint of water and energy consumption (electricity and natural gas) of the household sector in the 22 districts of Tehran and estimates the environmental capacity of the mentioned resources. Analysis method: Estimating the ecological footprint of water and energy (electricity and natural gas) used in the household sector of Tehran refers to the negative relationship between the continuity of household activities and the ecological gap of the mentioned sources, which according to the results and their analysis, ecological gap more than 4 million hectares of water, electricity and natural gas consumption are available in the household sector of Tehran.To find the impact of practical solutions to reduce the ecological gap using SPSS software and Cochran test and also developing a questionnaire related to the use of resources in household,the most important factor in reducing the ecological gap is identified. Findings: Based on the results obtained and their analysis, the ecological gap of over 4 million hectares is due to the excessive use of water, electricity and natural gas in the household sector of Tehran. After estimating the ecological gap, questionnaires were distributed to clarify the causes of household waste loss. According to the statistical society, in the assessment of the questionnaire, the population of the 22nd household in Tehran was considered to be 2 million and 830thousand households.To create uniformity of analysis, the households were based on a population of 3, Then through the Cochran formula, 1100 households were sampled and they were randomly selected. Discussion and conclusion: The results of the questionnaire showed that the most important factor in reducing the ecological gap and having the optimal use of water in the household sector is reducing water consumption for washing cars,the most important factor for creating optimal power consumption in the household sector is using energy-saving bulbs.The most important factor for creating optimal consumption of natural gas in the household sector is the use of double-glazed windows and the least effective factor is the use of gas heaters proportional to the area of the houses.  

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