Yipes - a graphical representation of gasoline use around the world (it ain't pretty)
The Economist created this startling image for its website earlier this month. The "yipes" in my headline is about that bar all the way to the left, the all-U.S. bar. It's no secret we use a lot of gasoline here in the U.S., but seeing it laid out like this just twists my gut in all sorts of weird ways. And makes the news we report on every day here on AutoblogGreen all the more useful (because, you know, I learn things, too).
I also recommend reading the short paragraph that accompanies the image on The Economist's site.
[Source: The Economist]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Tim 12:28AM (7/09/2008)
In September......when it comes out that the United States used 10% less gas in June than June of 2007>>>>>>>>>look for the 1st of many drops at the pump. Everyone talks of India and China, but we STILL use more than them PLUS the next EIGHTEEN put together!! We control our own destiny on the pricing of oil. It's NOBODYS fault but our piggish ways.
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UH2L 2:49PM (7/12/2007)
They should really show the chart on a per capita basis, but it still would show that the U.S. uses way too much fuel, and Canada would probably be very close.
It should also be considered that we have a large country area-wise relative to our population. They should adjust for population density and see what happens.
Our country is designed around the automobile so our consumption won't go down significantly overnight although we should collectively drive more efficient vehicles.
Atul
http://www.thingsivenoticed.com
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Chris 3:20PM (7/12/2007)
Agreed ^. Should show per capita.
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Glenn Mercer 3:34PM (7/12/2007)
Staggering. Certainly the result of many interacting factors (long distances, low fuel taxes, high vehicles/household count, the "Born to Run" identification of the American identity with constant mobility, cheap parking (not to be overlooked!), etc.) But I always thought the main issue was... all those gasoline fights as inspired by Zoolander... (grin)!
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Rik 4:20PM (7/12/2007)
Well i'm a European and don't even have a car but to soothe it a bit on you guys on the other side of the pond there are a few factors which should be accounted for, which justify the situation a bit...only a bit :-P ;
-It shows petrol use, many other parts of the world use more of the heavier oil fractions (diesel)
-Petrol is not only used for transportation means in the US, while this is more so in other parts of the world.
-The whole layout of cities, etc. mandates car use, while other parts of the world with more compact cities allow more for other forms of transportation
-The argumentation behind low taxes on fuel would have been that it was (macro) economically disadvantageous in the past. In parts of the world with higher taxes the nature of the countries means car uses stimulates the economy less, meaning that curbing petrol import by taxes was a better decision. Seen in the light of the current state of events a higher tax would be good in the US (just from a economical point of view), but hey which politician is going to make him or herself very unpopular?
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Stephan 4:22PM (7/12/2007)
Per Capita wouldn't make things look any better. China and India are on there so that is 2.2 billion people plus, all the other countries. So without looking it up it is roughly 300 million Americans vs. 3 billion for the rest of the world!
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Tim 5:13PM (7/12/2007)
Can anyone devide the US bar by sectors such as military, federal, state, local gov't, commercial shipping, air etc. That would be interesting. The US military is by far the largest consumer because we have troops in almost every other country in the world. Why?
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Mike!!ekiM 1:00AM (7/09/2008)
Oil?
MC 5:07PM (7/12/2007)
Stephen
"Per capita use wouldn't make it look any better" And you have numbers to support this assertion? No?
I do, however, so don't worry yourself.
http://unixgeek.com/worldPetrolUse.html
I worked this little spreadsheet up to see for myself and after that, yes, the US is still on top. But the US exceeds the next biggest (Canada) by a whopping 29% (per capita); quite a far cry from the 682% percentage increase from the next biggest in overall use (Japan).
And in petrol use per square kilometer, the US comes in ... 8'th! Take that for what you will.
* Population Data is for 2003; sorry, best I could find quickly. URLs where data is gathered from are on the bottom of the sheet. Use View Source to see the whole thing.
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George Krpan 5:34PM (7/12/2007)
The size of the US is irrelevant.
That can't be used as an excuse or justification.
It doesn't influence the amount of crude left in the ground.
Too much is too much.
Our living arrangement is fundamentally wrong.
Driving more efficient cars is only one part of the solution. The other part is reducing the amount that we have to travel.
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1985 Gripen 6:35PM (7/12/2007)
I'd be interested to see the price of gasoline in those countries minus the taxes the respective gov'ts put on the fuel.
As for the bar graph on the left and it's relation to the graph on the right, that just goes to show you what you would already know if you shop at Costco. You get a discount for buying in bulk! ;-)
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Chase 12:32AM (7/13/2007)
The U.S. is more spread out than other countries. I know I have no option but to drive to work. Maybe bike, but honestly it'd be an hour long bike ride. Other than the excuse that graph is shocking.
http://www.discounttire.ws
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Guenther 9:47AM (7/13/2007)
That's some striking information. While it isn't the solution, it would be a start to work towards fuel consumption levels similar to Canada or Australia. There is no reason that part shouldn't be feasable.
I was surprised at the high /capita number for Taiwan. I wouldn't have guessed.
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kcjones 4:14PM (7/13/2007)
While normalizing for population levels the playing field to some extent, normalizing for size of economy would add some insight into what each country is getting for their fuel consumption. This assumes, of course, that people aren't just driving around for nothing. It takes fuel to get to work, produce goods and deliver them to stores/ports. Which country gets the most out of their fuel usage?
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naggs 12:35PM (7/16/2007)
were number 1
USA!
USA!
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Paul 5:29AM (7/16/2007)
The whole argument of the US size and distances involved is irrelevant. Look at MC's per capita calculations for Australia -- 2.5l/person/day versus the US at 4.2. From firsthand experience of living in both countries I can tell you Australians love their homes on 1/4 acre lots that cause their cities to sprawl (like Americans) and big fuel-sucking vehicles such as Toyota LandCruisers, Ford Falcons and Holden Commodores, (though there are no mega-SUV's available) and relatively cheap petrol. The difference, as far as I can tell, is far superior public rail systems in the largest cities such as Melbourne and Sydney, and the heavy use of LPG for taxis and dual fuel availability for those large cars mentioned earlier.
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