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THE GLOBAL WARMING PUZZLE: HOW MANY PEOPLE DOES ONE CAR AMOUNT TO?
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- A world average of individual
car usage is about 12,334 miles per year, which translates into (12,334 miles / 365 days) =
33.8 miles per day, or 54.4 kilometers per day.
- A world average of gasoline mileage per car is 31.2 miles per gallon, which translates into 50.2 kilometers per gallon, or 13.2 kilometers per liter.
- Thus, the world average daily consumption of gasoline is: (54.4 km/day) / (13.2 km/liter) = 4.12 liters per day per car.
- The average density of gasoline is 0.74 kilogram per liter.
- The world average daily consumption of gasoline is: 4.12 liters per day per car × 0.74 kilogram per liter = 3.05 kilograms per day per car, or 3,050 grams per day per car.
- The average energy released by the burning of gasoline is 45.8 kilojoules per gram, or 10.95 kilocalories per gram.
- The average global rate of gasoline energy consumption is: (3,050 grams/day × 10.95 kilocalories per gram) = 33,398 kilocalories per day per car.
- An average person weighs 62 kilograms.
- To maintain his/her own weight, an average person needs 33 kilocalories per kilogram.
- Thus, a constant-weight average person consumes (62 kilograms × 33 kilocalories/kilogram) = 2,046 kilocalories per day.
- Thus, the ratio of car-to-person energy consumption is: (33,398 / 2,046) = 16.3
- In summary, in terms of energy consumption, one (1) car is equivalent to approximately 16.2 persons.
- There are approximately 7,800,000,000 people in the world today (February 2020).
- There are approximately 1,300,000,000 cars (including commercial motor vehicles) in the world today (2020).
- The people in the world burn (7,800,000,000 × 2,046 kilocalories/day) = 15,959,000,000,000 kilocalories per day = 15,959 teracalories per day.
- The cars in the world burn (1,300,000,000 × 33,398 kilocalories per day) = 43,417,000,000,000 kilocalories per day = 43,417 teracalories per day.
- The total number of calories consumed daily by people and cars amounts to 59,376 teracalories.
- This is equivalent to (59,376,000,000,000 kilocalories per day / 2,046 kilocalories/day/person) = 29,020,000,000 equivalent persons.
- The ratio between equivalent persons and actual persons is: (29,020,000 / 7,800,000,000) = 3.72
- Thus, current use of fossil fuel [in car transportation] amounts to an equivalent population which is about 3.7 times larger than the actual value, in terms of energy consumption and subsequent release of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere.
- A world average of gasoline mileage per car is 31.2 miles per gallon, which translates into 50.2 kilometers per gallon, or 13.2 kilometers per liter.