Pollution in DC

A new report presents some staggering results about the place where I live. It turns out that the Washington DC area produces more carbon dioxide emissions than Hungary, Finland, Denmark, Sweden, and Switzerland combined — and all of these countries have more people than the DC area. As an example, while Sweden has almost twice as many people as DC (9 million versus 5 million), carbon emissions from DC are 25 percent higher. And emissions are 42 percent higher than in Switzerland, with 7.5 million people.

Ironically, DC is actually a model of virtue by American standards, producing 13.2 metric tons of carbon dioxide per person per year, as opposed to a national average of 20 metric tons. The reason is that residents of DC tend to take mass transit and live in pedestrian-friendly suburbs. Still, 34 percent of DC emissions are accounted for by cars and trucks (even more than the output of the coal-burning power plants).

And yet the usual suspects continue to dismiss, mock, and denigrate concerns about global warming. It really boils down to a simple defense of the American hyper-consumerist mentality, and the penchant for driving threatening vehicles that give the driver a feeling of power at the expense of everybody else on the road (including pedestrians). Individualim run amuck.