The answer for most folks, regrettably, is on the order of the same weight as that of their vehicle.
That's between 2,500 and 3,500 pounds per year!!!
Utilizing the below average information, that would mean each of us drivers is contributing on the order of 2,500 lbs of carbon-based pollutants into our local atmospheres annually!
|
Average car weight: Average vehicle fuel efficiency: Average annual miles driven: Average fuel (gasoline) density: Average fuel percent carbon by weight: |
3,200 lbs 22.6 miles/gallon* 11,329* 5.9 lbs/gal 85% |
What follows is the equation utilized to calculate the actual value. If you want to know what the answer is for your particular situation, just replace the gallons/mile and miles/year averages with the known values for your vehicle's fuel efficiency and your annual miles driven. Certainly, the answer will vary depending on your particular transportation preferences and driving needs.
Additionally, if you assume that all of the carbon was emitted as carbon monoxide (just for illustrative purposes), you would be contributing 5,866 pounds per year of CO to your local atmosphere annually. This is due to the molecular weight ratio of CO to carbon being about 2.3.
*Taken from the U.S. Department of Tranportation, Bureau of Transportation Statistic's National Transportation Statistics 1997.
[If you are seeing only one of the two frames that exist for our site,