The oil gushing out of the floor in the ocean in the Gulf of Mexico is so sad. The fall out from this disaster is yet to come, and I believe we will all be affected in some way. I have been struggling to figure out what I can do. It’s hard to find an upside, but I believe we can all do a lot to help change the situation. The bottom line is that we are are all (especially Americans) responsible for the amount of oil we use.
Let me start with some facts and figures. Check out the top 6 users of oil in the world. Even per capita, we use ENORMOUSLY more than any other country in the world. We are oil gluttons.
United States:- Daily oil consumption in USA is 19.8 million bbl(billion barrel) per day. It may be a surprise to know that according to the 2009 facts, US is the number one oil consuming country with fifty-five percent of the oil it produces from her own domestic reserves. Forty percent of the oil used in America is used to power personal vehicles, 70% if you include trucks.
China:- China is the world’s second largest oil consuming country with 7.8 million bbl/day. In 2007, it imported 145 million tons of crude oil, accounting for 47% of its total oil consumption. Three state-owned oil companies- Sinopec, CNPC and CNPPC, dominate its domestic market. The Chinese government has already set tougher emission standards on automobiles than most countries including the U.S.
Japan:- Japan ranked third word’s oil consuming country with oil consumption of 4.6 million bbl/day. Japan leads the pack in innovation and best use of energy. Having few natural resources the whole nation is obsessed with energy conservation. It is also the world’s fourth largest exporter and fifth largest importer of different manufactured and non-manufactured products.
Russia:- Russia is the Fourth world’s largest oil consuming country with 2.8 million bbl/day. Russia is the one of the top five states who produces more than its uses. Russia is also known as an energy superpower of the top five consumers of oil, the Unties State, China, Japan, Russia and Germany. Out of these five only Russia has enuogh domestic resources to meet its needs.
India:- India is the fifth largest oil consuming country with 2.67 million bbl/day. The combination of oil consumption and relatively flat production has left India increasingly dependent on imports to meet its petroleum demand. In terms of oil use, transportation is the largest sector with highest consumption.
Germany:- Germany is the world’s sixth largest oil consuming country with 2.569 million bbl/day consumption. In 2008, it consumed energy from the following sources: oil (34.8%) and natural Gas (22.1%). Germany is one of the largest exporter of goods in the world and it consumes a lot of oil in industrial sector.
Now, look at how we use the oil we consume:
So, what is a person to do? There are several small steps you can take that will #1 Improve your health, #2 Reduce your personal oil consumption, and #3 Help leave the planet a better place. Below are my suggestions for ways we can all make an individual contribution:
Driving: Since our cars and trucks use almost two-thirds of the oil we buy, the quickest way to cut oil use is to free transportation from its grip. Over time, we can conserve by reducing the miles we drive. But it will take decades to shift most freight from trucks to trains, design walkable communities, shorten our commutes, and build better mass transit and high-speed rail networks.
So what can you do today? WALK INSTEAD OF DRIVE. I don’t mean all-the-time-everywhere, I just mean making a small change. Just think of making a 1% change. The average American drives 15,000 miles per year. A 1% change means you drive 150 miles less per year, or 12.5 miles less per month or 3.125 miles per week. Not only will it help you reduce the amount of oil you use, but it will add to your health and fitness. A 150 pound person who walks 12.5 miles at an average pace (3 miles per hour) burns 1188 calories or 1/3 of a pound. Not only will this help you burn off some fat, but it will also help improve your heart health. The average trip to the grocery store is just 2 miles. For those trips where you need just a few items, walk instead of drive. Have a dog? Instead of driving him or her to the dog park, walk “spot” around the neighborhood. Take the bus or train on occasion. You might enjoy the time out of your car reading a book or the newspaper. Ride a bike. Biking is a great way to move you out of your car and into a healthier mode of transportation. Ride to work, the store, or the park. It’s also a great alternative for commuting to work. Most bus systems now have bike racks, so if you can’t go the full distance, use a bus/bike combination. Biking burns 270 calories per hour at a leisurely pace. Add a hill and whew! You become a calorie burning machine.
Food: In the U.S., up to 20 percent of the country’s fossil fuel consumption goes into the food chain which points out that fossil fuel use by the food system “often rivals that of automobiles”. To feed an average family of four in the developed world uses up the equivalent of 930 gallons of gasoline a year – just shy of the 1,070 gallons that family would use up each year to power their cars. Ouch! It’s amazing that food consumes this much energy! What can you do? Find ways to buy local. Go to the farmer’s market in your neighborhood (hopefully you can walk or bike there). Think about what you buy, the amount of packaging, and how far the item traveled to get to you. Consider planting a small garden in your backyard. Stop drinking bottled water, forever. All of these can help you cut back on your personal oil consumption.
Home Energy: Do you leave the lights on when you leave? How high is your heat? Do you unplug your chargers when they are not in use? Do you really need more “stuff”? Think about the small things, they add up.
Yard work: Get rid of your gas powered mover, weed eater, blower and all other gas powered appliances. Garden equipment engines emit high levels of carbon monoxide, volatile organic compounds and nitrogen oxides, producing up to 5% of the nation’s air pollution and a good deal more in many metropolitan areas like Los Angeles.
A conventional lawn mower pollutes as much in an hour as 40 late model cars (or as much as as much air pollution as driving a car for 100 miles).
Change your equipment to either electric or, when possible, human powered. If you use a push mower, you will burn calories while you get the yard cut. Check out this comparison!
Body Weight Cals Burned per hour Cals burned with Gas Mower
130 323 88
140 348 95
150 373 101
160 398 107
170 422 115
180 447 122
190 472 128
With fitness and weight loss the small things add up to make a big difference. This is also true with our energy consumption. We can all make a difference, we just have to decide its worth the effort.
Resources:
www.worldchanging.org
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/may/30/biofuels.food
http://www.energybulletin.net/node/5045
http://www.dailyfinance.com/story/autos/americans-want-fuel-economy/19483507/
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_average_miles_driven_per_year_in_america
http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/ene_oil_con-energy-oil-consumption
