A Daily Snapshot Of Carbon Usage In Figures

ENERGY TECH

Graphic showing the consumption of CO2 per person per year in various regions around the world, ahead of an IPCC report on climate change. Graphic courtesy AFP.

by Anne Chaon
Paris (AFP) Jan 23, 2007
Greenhouse-gas pollution, the driver for dangerous global warming, is all around us -- and almost as invisible are the huge disparities in individual emissions around the world and carbon cost of the things we buy. For instance, the average American, whose lifestyle is based on profligate burning of oil, gas and coal, causes nearly 10 times more carbon pollution than the average Kenyan.

And a bottle of champagne costs 1.7 kilos (3.75 pounds) in carbon -- the pollution emitted by machinery to cultivate the vines, grow and treat the grapes, produce, fill and store the bottle and transport it to a shop where it is sold.

The world's biggest single polluter is the United States, which by itself accounts for about a quarter of global emissions of greenhouse gases, followed by China.

Here is a snapshot in figures of emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2), the principal greenhouse gas, according to lifestyle, product and sector:

PER CAPITA CO2 (Source: International Energy Agency, IEA. Figures are in tonnes of CO2 per person per year)

- North America: United States 19.5 tonnes; Canada 17; Mexico 3.7

- Europe: Germany 10.2 tonnes; Britain 9.1; France 6.4

- Asia-Pacific: Australia 17.1 tonnes; New Zealand 8.3; China 3.2; India 1; Bangladesh 0.2

- Middle East-North Africa: Saudi Arabia 13.3 tonnes; Algeria 2.5

- Africa: South Africa 8.2 tonnes; Kenya 0.2

POLLUTION PER ACTIVITY (On the basis of a western Europe lifestyle, where one litre of petrol, or gasoline, causes 2.7 kilos (5.9 pounds) of CO2. Source: Jean-Marc Jancovici, French climate and energy consultant)

- One year of car driving (14,000 kilometers, 8,750 miles): 3.78 tonnes of CO2

- Return flight Paris-New York, second class: 1.6 tonnes of CO2

- One year's lighting for average-sized home: Depends on energy source, varying from four kilos (8.8 pounds) of CO2 for hydro to 400 kilos (880 pounds) for coal-fired plant.

- One year's heating oil for 100m2 (1,076-square-feet) dwelling: 4.86 tonnes of CO2.

- One kilo (2.2 pounds) of beef, cooked and ready to eat: 3.7 kilos (8.14 pounds) of CO2. Figure includes proportionate cost of making tractor and agriculture chemicals, does not include greenhouse-gas emissions from cows and fertilisers.

- One kilo (2.2 pounds) of locally-caught fish: 1.6 kilos (3.5 pounds) of CO2

- One kilo (2.2 pounds) of ocean-caught tuna: 3.2 kilos (7.04 pounds) of CO2

- One kilo (2.2 pounds) of prawns (shrimp): 8 kilos (17.6 pounds) of CO2

- One bottle of champagne: 1.7 kilos (3.75 pounds) of CO2

- US- or Asian-made flat screen for computer: 1.3 tonnes (2.9 pounds) of CO2

FOSSIL FUEL USE: EMISSIONS PER SECTOR (Source: IEA)

- Power production: 40 percent

- Transport: 21 percent

- Industry: 17 percent

- Buildings: 14 percent

- Other sectors: 8 percent.

Source: Agence France-Presse

Memory Foam Mattress Review

SPACE MEDIA NETWORK PROMOTIONS
Solar Energy Solutions
Tempur-Pedic Mattress Comparison ...

Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News

ENERGY TECH

B-52 Undergoes Synthetic-Fuel Cold Weather Testing At Minot

Minot AFB (SPX) Jan 23, 2007
A B-52 Stratofortess powered by a mix of synthetic fuel arrived here Jan. 17 for cold-weather testing, the last step in the testing and certification process to help reduce Air Force dependence on imported fuel. The aircraft, permanently assigned to the 5th Bomb Wing here, will undergo ground testing today through the beginning of February to determine how well the synthetic fuel, made from a 50-50 blend of traditional crude oil-based fuel and a Fischer-Tropsch fuel derived from natural gas, performs in extreme weather conditions.

CIVIL NUCLEAR Russia And India To Sign Deal On Building NPPs Zapatero Pins Faith In Renewable Energy Amid Nuclear Debate Nuclear Waste Land Most Germans Oppose Nuclear Power Phase-Out	CLIMATE SCIENCE The IPCC The Most Powerful Acronym No One Has Heard Of Decomposition Of Plants Could Shed Light On Climate Change Russian Winter Warmest On Record Top US Firms To Urge Congress To Fight Global Warming
FARM NEWS Escapes From Norway's Fish Farms Threaten Wild Salmon Conservationists Meet To Avert Feared Tuna Extinction California Fruit Crops Devastated By Freeze Says Schwarzenegger California's Big Freeze Threatening Citrus Crops	FLORA AND FAUNA The Great Preserver Shotgun Sequencing Slime Study Explains How Costly Traits Evolve Big Vegetarian Mammals Play Critical Role In Maintaining Healthy Ecosystems
ROCKET SCIENCE Test Flights Of Angara Boosters To Start In 2010 Researchers Create New Class Of Compounds India Delays Cryogenic Rocket Engine Test Two Weeks India To Conduct Full-Duration Cryogenic Stage Test	NUCLEAR SPACE
EARTH OBSERVATION GeoEye Next-Generation Earth Imaging Satellite Reaches Major Milestone Chairman Reacts to National Academies' Earth Science and Applications Assessment Egypt Plans First Remote Sensing Satellite Japanese Government Initiates Space-Borne Hyperspectral Payload Program	TECH SPACE New Approaches For Producing Large Composite Structures Raytheon Awarded Contract for Early Warning Radars Sustainment Northrop Grumman Supplies TouchTable Technology to CNN's 'The Situation Room' LISA Pathfinder Spacecraft Test Phase About To Start

The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright Space.TV Corporation. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement, agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by Space.TV Corp on any Web page published or hosted by Space.TV Corp. Privacy Statement