Wednesday, November 07, 2007

Equity, growth, climate

In a post touching on the ethics of climate change, Andy Revkin links to a striking illustration of global carbon emissions per capita by nation and mortality per million by region. There is likely to be some shift in the balance of carbon emissions as/if global energy needs 'grow inexorably', with China 'to be largest energy user'.
Were China and India to increase their rates of car ownership to the point where per-capita oil consumption reached just half of American levels, the two countries would burn through a hundred million additional barrels a day...But improving gas mileage will take us only so far. Once the Chinese and the Indians really start driving, doubled or even tripled fuel efficiency won’t suffice.
-- from Does the “car of the future” have a future?, Elizabeth Kolbert's review of Zoom and Auto Mania.

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