fast facts on U.S. carbon dioxide emissions
Ever wonder how much of the total emissions in the U.S. come from where? Like how much from our driving or home power.
Or how much of our emissions are sequestered in our ecosystems?
Here are summary measures from EPA's annual report on U.S. emissions that can help put into perspective our multi-pronged efforts to reduce emission in our communities...our country:
- For openers, about 11% of U.S. emissions are sequestered. This is the "net CO2 flux" from land use, land-use change, and forestry which includes both emissions and sequestration.
- Total U.S. emissions of nearly 6 billion tons of CO2 (equivalents) in 2004 are up 7% since 1998, and this represents roughly 20 tons per capita (which has been holding steady in recent years).
- About one-third of CO2 emissions come from transport, and about one-third of that comes from automobiles (11%) and one-eighth from jets (4%). [Bear in mind that the impact of jet fuel in the upper atmosphere is greater than emissions on the ground. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has estimated that aviation’s total climate impact is some 2-4 times that of its CO2 emissions alone.]
- Roughly 40% comes from electricity generation, and about one-third of that is for homes (13%).
- One-third comes from coal, 20% from natural gas, and 40% from petroleum. [Bear in mind that petroleum contains about 25% less carbon than coal, and natural gas contains 45% less.]
- Emissions by industry (30%) and commerce (17%) rival those of the transportation (28%) and residential (17%) sectors, while agriculture contributes about 8%.
- The fastest growing sources since 1998 are transportation combustion (up 12%) and residential electricity (up 12%).
So, with 13% from our homes, 11% from our cars, and 4% from jet travel, there's almost one-third of all emissions where we have fairly direct impacts...and in areas where emissions have been fastest growing.
Give you any ideas?
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