Hi Terry >Hi Keith, > >The most significant difference from people in Britain and people of Kenya >seems to be transportation and electricity.
I think this shows the significant difference better: UK - GDP - per capita: $31,400 (2006 est.) Unemployment rate: 5.4% (2006 est.) Population below poverty line: 17% (2002 est.) Kenya - GDP - per capita (PPP): $1,200 (2006 est.) Unemployment rate: 40% (2001 est.) Population below poverty line: 50% (2000 est.) There are many ways of interpreting those figures, but the comparison is apt enough. >Biofuels and electric cars for >transportation and the many alternatives such as wind. solar, bio mass, >geothermal, etc. for generating electricity by the western world could solve >these differences. We should be considerate of the suffering of people in >the poorest countries. Indeed. In that case we'd stop causing it. Best Keith >Terry Dyck > > > >From: Keith Addison <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> > >Reply-To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >To: biofuel@sustainablelists.org > >Subject: [Biofuel] How richest fuel global warming - but poorest suffer > >mostfrom it > >Date: Thu, 18 Jan 2007 13:46:58 +0900 > > > >http://news.independent.co.uk/environment/article2137667.ece > >Independent Online Edition > Environment > > > >How richest fuel global warming - but poorest suffer most from it > > > >By Philip Thornton, Economics Correspondent > > > >Published: 09 January 2007 > > > >By the end of tomorrow the average Briton will have caused as much > >global warning as the typical Kenyan will over the whole of this > >year, according to a report. > > > >The findings highlight the glaring imbalance between the rich > >countries that produce most of the pollution and the poor countries > >that suffer the consequences in the forms of drought, floods, > >starvation and disease. > > > >The World Development Movement (WDM), a poverty campaign group, has > >drawn up a "climate calendar" showing the dates when the UK will have > >emitted as much CO2 gas as other countries will in a year. > > > >Unsurprisingly, the poorest counties such as Chad, Afghanistan and > >the Democratic Republic of Congo produce virtually no carbon > >emissions. Even populous countries such as India will be overtaken in > >its emissions by the UK in a month's time. In fact, 164 countries in > >the world have a smaller carbon footprint than the UK, while just 20, > >mainly including the major oil producers as well as the US, have a > >larger one. > > > >By the end of tomorrow the average Briton will have produced 0.26 > >tonnes of CO2 emissions. > > > >"The poorest countries in the world, with 738 million people, make no > >contribution to climate change, but it is those same people who face > >the worst consequences," Benedict Southworth, WDM's director, said. " > >One hundred and sixty thousand people are already dying every year > >due to climate change- related diseases and billions will face > >drought, floods, starvation and disease." > > > >WDM has calculated the figures by taking the annual CO2 emission for > >each country, dividing by the number of people and then working out a > >daily contribution. > > > >Thus while an Afghan on average will produce an annual equivalent of > >0.02 tonnes of CO2, a Briton will produce 9.62 tonnes and the most > >prolific polluter - someone from the United Arab Emirates - will emit > >about 56 tonnes. > > > >WDM acknowledged that its figures were based on averages that masked > >differences between life in rural and urban areas, but said that the > >figures still exposed the "injustice" of global warming. > > > >"It is the richest people in the world who have produced and who are > >still producing most of the greenhouse gases causing climate change," > >Mr Southworth said. > > > >The report said 7,800 Kenyans, Tanzanians and Rwandans died every > >year from diseases that were related to climate change. It warned > >that a 2C rise in temperature could lead to as many as 60 million > >more people being exposed to malaria in Africa. > > > >The potential for massive ecological and human suffering as a result > >of climate change was a key finding in the report by Sir Nicholas > >Stern, although it was overshadowed by the political debate over the > >need for higher taxes or the imposition of rationing. > > > >The Stern report found that many "vulnerable" regions embracing > >millions of people in sub-Saharan Africa were at risk from harvest > >failures, droughts and malaria. > > > >It warned that these phenomena would affect the poorest people most > >of all and fuel conflicts and raise the number of child deaths as > >populations moved to avoid the worst-hit areas. > > > >WDM said that although the Government had used the Stern report to > >show Britain's commitment to fighting climate change, emissions had > >risen 5 per cent under Labour. > > > >It called on the Government to include legally binding annual targets > >to cut emissions in its Climate Change Bill. > > > >Carbon comparison > > > >The average British citizen produces 26kg of CO2 in a day. This > >breaks down as follows: > > > >* 7.4 electricity > >* 1.6 fuel production > >* 3.8 manufacturing and construction > >* 7.4 transport, of which: (5.2 road transport, 1.7 air travel, 0.1 > >railways and 0.4 shipping) > >* 1.0 office buildings > >* 3.8 residential heating > >* 1.0 Other industrial processes, agriculture, military travel, other > > > >The average Kenyan citizen produces 0.7kg of CO2 in a day. This > >breaks down as follows: > > > >* 0.08 electricity > >* 0.08 fuel production > >* 0.16 manufacturing and construction > >* 0.31 transport > >* 0.07 other _______________________________________________ Biofuel mailing list Biofuel@sustainablelists.org http://sustainablelists.org/mailman/listinfo/biofuel_sustainablelists.org Biofuel at Journey to Forever: http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html Search the combined Biofuel and Biofuels-biz list archives (50,000 messages): http://www.mail-archive.com/biofuel@sustainablelists.org/
