Lets crunch some numbers

This post is going to be the start of something new. Once in a while I am going to try to show that when lots of people make small changes it can have a large environmental impact.

First, let's set the table with a few facts and figures. Our government produces lots and lots and lots of data which can come in quite handy. Today I want to discuss transportation and gas/oil consumption, so I'll start you off with a link to the Bureau of transportation Statistics report: Passenger Car and Motorcycle Fuel Consumption and Travel

This report tells us that 135,921,000 cars were driven: 1,658,640,000,000 miles and consumed: 74,949,000,000 gallons of gas. The average vehicle consumed 551 gallons of fuel per year at a rate of 22.1 miles per gallon. The average vehicle drove 12202.97084335753857019886551747 miles.

The average MPG surprised me since the 1992 model car I have gets 36 mpg on the highway and about 27 in the city. Also, this category does not include trucks or light trucks. Just cars.

Moving on, let's go over to the EPA and take a look at some Emission Facts. They prepared a report called Average Annual Emissions and Fuel Consumption for Passenger Cars and Light Trucks

This report also shows that a passenger car which travels 12,500 miles per year and consumes fuel at 21.5 miles per gallon emits 16,035 pounds of CO2 in a year. CO2 was selected because it is "the transportation sector's primary contribution to climate change". An important note states that Carbon dioxide emissions are directly proportional to fuel economy - each 1% increase (or decrease) in fuel consumption results in a corresponding increase (or decrease) in carbon dioxide emissions.


Here is a report C02 consumption which shows CO2 emission statistics. In 2001 172,554,545 metric tons of CO2 were emitted by passenger cars (The math: (632.7 * 12 / 44) = 172.554545... and 172.554545... * 1,000,000 is 172554545.4545... metric tons).

I know this is a lot of numbers, but too bad, here's another important fact. One 42 US-gallon barrel of crude oil, when refined, produces 19.9 gallons of finished motor gasoline (Link). This means that one gallon of gas takes 2.1105527638190954773869346733668 gallons of oil to produce (42 / 19.9).

To rewind, our automobiles consume 74,949,000,000 gallons of gas, which takes 158,183,819,095.47738693467336683411 gallons of oil, which is 3,766,281,407.0351758793969849246216 barrels of crude oil.

Why the math torture? It allows us to tease out scenarios which ought to be accurate. For instance, let's say that we magically increased our fuel economy by 10%. For the average passenger car, this means going from 22.1 mpg to 24.31 mpg. Achieving 24.31mpg, as I have shown, is technically feasible with 1992 technology.

Now, let's crunch these new numbers:

We would save 7,494,900,000 gallons of gas per year, which translates into 15,818,381,909.547738693467336683411 gallons of crude oil and 376,628,140.70351758793969849246216 barrels of oil. If you assume 40 dollars a barrel that's a savings of 15,065,125,600 dollars.

We would also eliminate 17,255,454.5 metric tons of CO2 emissions (remember it falls in direct proportion to fuel economy).

So, what are we waiting for President Bush? How about some sensible CAFE standards?

If you want to have some fun, here are potential oil production stats from ANWAR (Alaskan National Wildlife Refuge):

7,668 million Barrels of oil in the well...

How long would the oil from ANWAR sustain us, and how much money is at stake?