H03351
Headlines : EnvironmentUK Environment Secretary exposes G8 rift on global warming
Global warming: the US contribution in figures:
* The United States constitutes 4 per cent of the world population * It is responsible for a quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions – an average of 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide is released by each US citizen every year – the highest of any country in the world, and more than China, India and Japan combined * Americans use 50 million tons of paper annually – consuming more than 850 million trees * There are more than 200 million cars and light trucks on american roads * According to the Federal Department of Transportation, they use over 200 million gallons of petrol a day * Motor vehicles account for 56 per cent of all air pollution in The United States * A study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in 2002 concluded that people living in the most heavily polluted metropolitan areas have a 12 per cent increased risk of dying of lung cancer than people in the least polluted areas * 32 of the 50 busiest US airports currently have plans to expand operations * Every year US industries release at least 2.4 billion pounds of chemicals into the atmosphere * Despite having just 2 per cent of known oil reserves, the US consumes 25 per cent of the world’s oil production * 16 per cent of world oil production goes into american cars alone. * * Approximately 160 million people living in 32 US states live in regions with smog and soot levels considered dangerous to health * The new clear air interstate rule aims to cut sulphur dioxide by 73 per cent and nitrogen oxide by 61 per cent in the next 10 years * Around 50 million new cars roll off US assembly lines each year * There are already more than 20 million four-wheel-drive vehicles on US roads * More than 1.5 million gallons of oil were spilled into US waters in 2000 alone * Only 1 per cent of american travel is on public transport, an eighth of that in the UK and an eighteenth of that in Japan * As much as 5.99 tonnes of carbon dioxide is emitted per American per year, compared with 0.31 tonnes per Indian or 0.05 tonnes per Bangladeshi. * The US had 16 major oil spills between 1976 and 1989, whereas France suffered six and the UK five * The average american produces 864kg of municipal waste per year, almost three times the quantity of rubbish produced annually by an Italian(source)
[Posted By BurningMonk]Republished from The Independent
The British Government is deeply disappointed that President George Bush has not made a greater commitment to tackling climate change before the G8 summit, the Environment Secretary has disclosed. In a rare, outspoken critique of the US position on global warming, Margaret Beckett told The Independent of the Government’s frustration at the lack of “common ground” with Washington on the need for action on the environment. The US has consistently blocked attempts by Britain to put progress on tackling climate change alongside G8’s moves to scrap African debt at the Gleneagles meeting of the leading industrialised nations next month.
Mrs Beckett added that signing the Kyoto protocol was clearly “off the agenda” for President Bush, who was “coming from a different place in the dialogue” on the issue of global warming. She said the Government had made no secret that it wants the White House to be “more engaged” on climate change. “Certainly there is a degree of disappointment that there isn’t more common ground than there already is,” she said.
Her remarks come days after Mr Blair returned from talks with President Bush about global warming in Washington.
At Westminster, Mrs Beckett’s criticism will be interpreted as a sign of growing frustration…
Posted by BurningMonk
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