In the US today we rely on a Fossil fuel economy for just about everything we do. It’s estimated that each and every one of us in the US uses 7 gals of fossil fuel a day. These 7 gals a day includes not only our cars but what we use in our houses, generating electricity, growing our food, getting our food to our tables, the packaging. Most all of the goods we purchased for our homes, the homes themselves, have had several touch points with fossil fuels in the making, transporting and continued use.
We can multiply those 7 gals by approximately 300 million people that live in the US. Data from the International Energy Agency Key World energy Statistics 2006 states that for that time period each and every American produced approximately 19.61 tons of Actual CO2 per year. This number is total CO2 from electrical generation, Cars, and everything used by fossil fuels in the making, growing, and using of the products created. With the exception of Russia which produced 10.79 tons of CO2 per person, the remaining 33 largest countries listed in the report, which is 80% of the world population uses half of what we do or less. The US population comprises about 4.5% of the world’s population, using far more than our fare share of world oil resources.
Currently its is estimated that we have peaked world oil reserves with other non renewable fossil fuel options to follow. By peaking I mean that we have used up half or what’s available and we only have another half to use. This would put our standard of living and economic future in doubt. With declining fossil fuel potential, and the emerging economies of India and China (to name the big ones) the demand for fossil fuels particularly oil is going greatly increase. The time frame for the depletion will be much less than that leading up to the peak because other world economies were not using peak oil to the extent that they will. Having a smaller and smaller oil pie to divide up on the world scale will cause the price of oil to increase. Or worse competing countries fighting over oil resources. Think about the amount of CO2 the world will be pumping into the atmosphere. Its mind boggling to think about how many tons of CO2 we humans spew into the atmosphere.
We in the US and the World need to look to a green economy for the maintenance of our standard of living at least something close to what we have today. A green economy will create good jobs with clean resources to use and reuse is really the only option for future generations to come. If we don't do the switch from oil to the green economy there will be far fewer good jobs and the standard of living will dramatically decline. US GNP will be a fraction of what it is today. We in the US are wasteful of the oil resources we use today and combine that with what is used world wide are creating an energy scarce future world that our children will have to live in and compete for. If we don't create a green economy, get off of the fossil fuels, the results will be a lowering of the standard of living in the US and Worldwide. The planet's atmosphere cannot stand the amount of CO2 the world will hand it an there could be a potential negative tipping point in the environment with results that are yet to be determined. Let’s play it safer with a green economy. With a green economy we could go a long way to heading off the environmental disaster that could result, and creating a sustainable economic future for generations to come. It’s the right thing to do and our children will not have die fighting for oil so we can drive our cars and run our toasters.