Half of global car exhaust produced by US vehicles

Julian Borger in Washington
Thursday June 29, 2006
The Guardian


Americans represent 5% of the world's population but drive almost a third of its cars, which in turn account for nearly half the carbon dioxide pumped out of exhaust pipes into the atmosphere each year, according to a report.

US cars play a disproportionate role in global warming because they are less fuel efficient than passenger vehicles used elsewhere in the world, emitting 15% more carbon dioxide, and because they are driven further across America's wide open spaces, said the report by the Environmental Defence watchdog group.

Americans drive 202m passenger vehicles out of 683m worldwide. The average US passenger vehicle, with a fuel economy of less than 20mpg, travels 11,000 miles a year, nearly a third more than cars elsewhere, according to Wednesday's report, Global Warming on the Road.

<snip>

While cars account for a tenth of greenhouse gas emissions around the world, American cars are responsible for 20% of US energy-related emissions. The Environmental Defence report found: "The amount of CO2 emitted from oil used for transportation in the United States is similar to the amount from coal used to generate electricity." General Motors, the biggest US car manufacturer, is responsible for nearly a third of those emissions, more than the biggest US power company, American Electric Power. GM and other car companies did not comment directly on the report, but noted that they were seeking to improve the energy efficiency and reduce the emissions of their fleets.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1808314,00.html

:faint:

...as the average European and 30 times that of the average resident of the 'third' world, so I guess it's not surprising that we also spew out a disproportionate amount of pollution.

They hate us for our freedom to pollute.