The increase in divorces has led to the creation of more households with fewer individuals , in which the performance of resources such as water and electricity is worse, generating a negative impact on the environment, according to a study by the University of Michigan published in the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).
The figures leave no room for doubt: in 2005 alone in the United States, approximately 73 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity and 627 billion gallons of water could have been saved if the return on household resources resulting from divorces had been maintained. at the same levels that they had when they were family nuclei based on marriage. Extending the study to 12 developed and developing countries around the globe, Jack Liu and Eunice Yu identified very similar trends.
As if this were not enough, the authors have found that if the head of the family remarries the extra demand for resources is eliminated. Governments, they recommend in PNAS, should take into account the full cost of divorce and separation when designing their environmental policies .
