The average American creates roughly 22 tons of carbon dioxide every year. That is twice as much as someone in the U.K. and nearly 200 times the amount put out by a Tanzanian. Emission numbers for Patrice and Michael, DISCOVER’s editorial and creative directors, respectively, are shown at right. Patrice, a New York City urbanite, walks to work, does not own a car, and leans on services like her dog walker. Mike commutes 46,000 miles annually by bus and drives a gas-guzzling Expedition but shares emissions from his home in the Poconos with three others.
Numbers in Tons of CO2 Annually
PatriceMichael
Food
2
6
Goods
3
1
Services
2
1
Transportation
2
2
Housing
6
3
World AverageNational AveragePatrice's TotalMichael's Total
5221533
Figures derived from the CoolClimate
Calculator, a program from the University of California at Berkeley.
