What is the average footprint?

In 2009, the average American has a carbon footprint of a little over 28 tons CO₂e. Roughly a sixth of this comes from shelter, a quarter comes from transportation, and the rest comes from producing all the stuff we buy. Some comes from government services too, but it is canceled out by carbon absorbed by shared forests.

The average American…

• Lives with 2.6 other people
• Drives 0.76 automobiles
• Flies 2.6 times each year
• Takes 19.5 transit bus trips each year
• Takes 13.1 rail trips each year
• Eats 2150 calories each day
• Owns 1 pet

We calculate the average footprint by looking at all of the emissions for the entire US. We adjust this number to include the emissions from producing all the stuff we import from other countries and exclude the emissions from stuff we export. This ensures we don’t leave out any emissions we’re indirectly responsible for. We divide that total by the US population to figure out the average American’s share.
More details.

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