Curious about our CO₂ emissions, I decided to look into what our cars put out. CO₂ emissions are directly related to fuel economy and miles driven. According to the Energy Information Administration*, burning one gallon of fuel creates several times the fuel’s weight in CO₂:
| Car | Fuel | lbs CO₂/gal (*EIA) | mpg (lifetime) | miles/year | tons CO₂/year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Beetle | diesel | 22.384 | 40.8 | 6,053 | 1.66 |
| Prius | gasoline | 19.564 | 45.1 | 15,720 | 3.42 |
Google Spreadsheets provides a fun gauge chart tool to illustrate our emissions.
CO₂ emissions, lbs/mi
According to some folks better at the ideal gas law than I, The half-pound of CO₂ associated with driving a mile in our cars has a volume in the atmosphere of about 4 ft³. We’re all filling up the air with greenhouse gases, one mile at a time, unfortunately.
