Note: This article is a sidebar to this issue’s feature story, “Save Our Snow.”
AIR TRAVEL
Each mile of commercial air travel produces a little more than half a pound of carbon dioxide per person. Each passenger on a one-way flight from Denver to San Francisco is responsible for about 608 pounds of carbon dioxide emissions.
Source:
BONNEVILLE ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION
CAR TRAVEL
Burning a gallon of gasoline emits almost 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. A typical late-model, mid-sized sedan produces about 9,500 pounds of carbon dioxide each year, while a hybrid car generates less than half that, about 4,300 pounds.
Source:
Environmental Defense/Environmental Protection Agency
POWER PLANTS
Converting the average Colorado household to wind or solar power keeps more than 22,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere every year.
Source:
BONNEVILLE ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION
FOREST CONSERVATION
Preserving an average acre of forest in the United States keeps more than 260,000 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere.
Source:
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION/EPA
SOLID WASTE
Every ton of waste recycled instead of landfilled keeps the equivalent of more than 6,500 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere. By capturing the methane released from its landfill, Salt Lake City avoids the equivalent of about 32 million pounds of carbon dioxide emissions each year.
Source:
GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT AND TECHNOLOGY FOUNDATION/SALT LAKE CITY MAYOR’S OFFICE
LED TRAFFIC SIGNALS
In 2001, Portland, Ore., replaced about 13,300 incandescent traffic signals with LED lamps. The new bulbs keep almost 5 million pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere each year, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by city government operations by 3 percent. The cost of purchasing and installing the new bulbs was recouped in less than three years, and the bulbs save about $400,000 in energy and maintenance costs each year.
Source:
CITY OF PORTLAND
COMPACT FLUORESCENT BULBS
Replacing six interior incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescents can keep 566 pounds of carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere — and save you about $30 — each year.
Source:
Rocky Mountain Institute
ARE YOU ABOVE AVERAGE?
The average U.S. household puts about 35,000 pounds of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere each year. To find out how your emissions compare, see www.carboncounter.org or www.greentagsusa.org.
Source:
BONNEVILLE ENVIRONMENTAL FOUNDATION
This article appeared in the print edition of the magazine with the headline Facts about greenhouse gas emissions.
Republish our articles for free, online or in print, under a Creative Commons license.
