Automobiles: Single drivers on average consume nearly 0.11 liters of fuel for every kilometer travelled. When carbon-based fuels are burned, they emit about 3.15 times their weight as carbon dioxide (CO2). Given that 1 liter of gasoline weighs 760 grams it will then emit 2.4 kilograms of CO2 when burned. Therefore, a single driver is responsible for about 239 grams of CO2 for every kilometer travelled.

Planes: The Boeing 737 airplane is the most produced jet airliner is history. There are over 1,250 in the air at any given moment. Each burns about 50 liters per minute at an average speed of 850 kilometers per hour. That means that each kilometer travelled by a 737 burns over 14 liters. Considering that the average plane can seat around 145 people, each passenger of a 737 is responsible for nearly 0.10 liters of jet fuel for each kilometer travelled. Given that 1 liter of jet fuel weighs about 830 grams, it will then emit 2.61 kilograms of CO2 when burned. Therefore, a single airline passenger is responsible for about 261 grams of CO2 for every kilometer travelled.

Trains: Rail has the unique ability to run purely off of an electrical power grid which, in the case of China, is 90 percent powered by fossil fuels. The power grid in the USA is 70 percent powered by fossil fuels and in Britain, 74 percent. The ATOC (Association of Train Operating Companies) estimates that the average British rail passenger is responsible for 61 grams of CO2 for every kilometer travelled.


* * *

China is home to nearly 78,000 kilometers of railroad track. With an investment of 292 billion US dollars, China plans to expand its railway network to 120,000 kilometers. Of the proposed expansion, 13,000 kilometers will be high-speed rail.

In 2008, nearly 1.5 billion train tickets were purchased in China resulting in over 773 billion kilometers travelled by rail. Taking into account the British estimate of 61 grams and China's fossil fuel-powered electric grid, China's rail would be responsible for over 74 grams of CO2 per passenger per kilometer travelled. Therefore, China's 2008 rail service would account for 57 billion kilograms of CO2.

If China's 1.5 billion rail travelers had decided to fly the same distance instead of riding the rails in 2008, it would have been responsible for an additional 145 billion kilograms of CO2. The average human's respiration emits approximately 1 kilogram of CO2 per day. The theoretical amount of CO2 saved by China's rail service is equivalent to adding nearly 400 million more breathing humans to the planet.


Sources:

Electricity Production in China. Library of Parliament. October, 2009.
http://www.parl.gc.ca/information/library/PRBpubs/prb0704-e.htm.

Making Electricity for the UK. Association of Electricity Producers. October, 2009.
http://www.aepuk.com/need_info.php.

Steiner, Christopher. $20 Per Gallon. Grand Central Publishing: 1 edition. July 15,2009.

Baseline Energy Statement – Energy Consumption and Carbon Dioxide Emissions on the Railway. ATOC. March, 2007.
http://www.atoc-comms.org/admin/userfiles/Baseline%20statement%20-%20FINAL%20-%20Print%20version.pdf

High-Speed Rail in China. The Transport Politic. January 12, 2009.
http://www.thetransportpolitic.com/2009/01/12/high-speed-rail-in-china/

Rail Transport in the People's Republic of China. Wikipedia. October, 2009.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rail_transport_in_the_People's_Republic_of_China

Daley, Will. Bombadier China Venture Wins $4 Billion Train Award. Bloomberg. September 28, 2009.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601082&sid=a1hskv5cBMoQ.

China Completes "Lifeline" Railway in Mountainous Yunnan. Xinhua. September 28, 2009.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-09/28/content_12122670.htm

The Year 2006 approaches its end, and there are now 300 million people in the United States of America. Meanwhile, the population of the People's Republic of China continues to climb above 1.3 billion. That is 4.3 times the population of the USA.

The USA presently consumes an average of 20.7 million barrels of petroleum per day. China consumes an average of 6.4 million barrels of petroleum per day. Therefore, the USA consumes 3.2 times as much petroleum as China.

One barrel of crude petroleum is 42 gallons. That means that the average Chinese consumes 1/5th of a gallon of petroleum per day; and the average US American consumes close to 3 gallons per day. That is 15 times as much as the average Chinese.

Refined petroleum breaks down to 51.4% finished motor gasoline, 15.3% distillate fuel oil, 12.6% jet fuel and the rest as still gas, marketable coke, residual fuel oil, liquefied refinery gas, asphalt and road oil, lubricants and other refined products. In the process of refining, one 42-gallon barrel of crude petroleum actually grows to 48.4 gallons of refined petroleum products. So the average US American actually consumes 3.3 gallons of refined petroleum products daily.

If China consumed as much crude petroleum per capita as the USA, they would consume over 89 million barrels per day. Globally, proven petroleum reserves total approximately 1.3 trillion barrels. So if China consumed as much per capita as the USA, then the USA and China combined would consume over 40 billion barrels annually, depleting the world's proven petroleum reserves within 32 years. Accounting for the rest of the countries on the world, proven petroleum reserves would be gone within 20 years.

China presently averages 133 people per automobile. The USA averages about 1.6 people per automobile. That means that China only has approximately 10 million automobiles on the road compared to 187 million automobiles on US American roads. China is expected to account for 18% of the world's future growth in car sales over the next 10 years, and Chinese car makers are among the fastest growing companies in the world.

* * * * *

The USA consumes close to 3.8 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. About 24% of that total electricity is created in coal-fired power plants. China consumes close to 1.8 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year. Roughly 75% of that electricity is created in coal-fired power plants. Over 95% of China's coal-fired power plants do not meet the requirements of the Kyoto Protocol; but China is exempt from this as it is considered a developing country.

China's energy demand is expected to grow to 3 trillion kilowatt-hours of electricity per year by 2020. China presently consumes about 28% of the world's coal. Even at such consumption rates, the world's proven coal reserves are estimated to last at least another 155 years. And with over 26% of the world's coal reserves, the USA has the potential to become the next Saudi Arabia.

Of the 20 most polluted cities in the world, 16 are in China. The USA presently emits close to 6 trillion metric tons of carbon dioxide annually from the combustion of fossil fuels. China presently emits close to 4 trillion metric tons of carbon dioxide per year from the combustion of fossil fuels. By 2025, China is expected to emit more carbon dioxide (likely responsible for global warming) and sulfur dioxide (responsible for acid rain) than the USA, Japan, and Canada combined.

In 2005, China's industry for export was valued at $762 billion. China's industry for domestic consumption was valued at $640 billion. That means that in 2005, roughly 55% of industry in China was for foreign consumption.

65% of all primary energy consumption in China is for the industrial sector. So if 55% of the industrial sector is to satisfy foreign consumer demands, then 36% of all energy consumption in China is in the name of foreign countries – mostly developed countries who on their home soil would be obligated to follow the Kyoto Protocol (other than the USA who refused to sign the treaty.)


Sources:

China Population, China Population Information and Research Center. October, 2006.
http://www.cpirc.org.cn/en/eindex.htm

World Petroleum Consumption 1960-2004, Energy Information Administration, Official Energy Statistics from the US Government. October, 2006.
http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeu/aer/txt/ptb1110.html

Energy Summary of China, Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum. October, 2006.
http://www.cslforum.org/china.htm

Energy Summary of USA, Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum. October, 2006.
http://www.cslforum.org/usa.htm

The World Factbook, China, Central Intelligence Agency. October, 2006.
https://www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/geos/ch.html