An Insignificant Truth

There are 37 million Americans living below the poverty line, representing 12.7% of the population, which is the highest figure in the developing world. America is also home to 269 billionaires, which is more than any other country.

The USA is also widely acknowledged to have the world’s largest carbon dioxide emissions, producing more than 6 billion tonnes per year – around 20 tonnes per person. In comparison, the UK produces less than 600 million tonnes per year – equating to about 10 tonnes per person.

We are inevitably witnessing climate change to some degree, particularly global warming, the only sensible argument to be having is how much of an impact this change will have and whether or not it’s worth doing anything about it.

Despite the dubious honour of being the largest contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, and thus global warming, car buying in the USA remains dedicated to the pickup, with the Ford F-Series having occupied the country’s best-selling slot for more than two decades.




These cars typify the pursuit of ‘the Dream’ in the USA, which holds that hard work will bring success and prosperity. In the way that the horse is the icon of the Wild West of old, the pickup is the modern day stallion of the American lifestyle. It is a symbol of strength and power in a country that is increasingly obsessed by both.

Indeed, together with the Chevrolet Silverado and Dodge Ram, sales make up 46% of the top ten best-selling cars in the USA – almost 1.8 million vehicles – with all three models coming no lower than fourth in the list – joined only by the Toyota Camry.

So, although the combined production figures for the top ten best-selling cars in the USA is a mere 6.5% higher than in the UK, combined carbon dioxide emissions – based on 10,000 miles per year – are 35% greater and the cars guzzle 93% more fuel. Even a straight comparison on distance driven reveals a significant difference, but in reality, Americans are estimated to drive up to a third further than their counterparts worldwide.

There are more than 680 million passenger vehicles worldwide and Americans drive over 200 million of them, which in turn churn out almost half of all tailpipe emissions. Whilst most vehicle manufacturers have been busying themselves improving the fuel economy of their products, the fuel economy of American cars has been steadily declining since the 1980s.

In comparison, despite the number of cars in the UK increasing by millions since the mid-1990s, carbon emissions have remained largely unchanged thanks to advancements in greener technologies. However, emissions from light and heavy goods vehicles have increased over the same period, in line with changing consumer trends such as reduction in personal travel in favour of online shopping.

Nevertheless, according to the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, road transport accounts for around 22% of carbon dioxide emissions, whilst a staggering 40% is attributable to the energy supply sector.



I’d consider myself a proponent of ‘green’ vehicles, but have often found it difficult to sell the benefits of such vehicles. I’ve believed for a long time that American car buying behaviour must change, but that’s difficult to justify when statistics show that even removing an entire year’s worth of new cars from America’s roads would only reduce carbon emissions by about 0.2%.

If climate change is something we really want to take on, we’re going to have to do more than simply buy hybrids and turn down our thermostats.