An Easy Way to Save 187 Million Gallons of Gas
and Get Healthier Too?
from Environmental
Economics by
Tim Haab in ENN.com
I
was reading somewhere recently–OK,OK, it was Reader’s Digest again–that one way
we could save a significant amount of gas is to lose weight. I don;t remember
all of the details, but the logic was simple: On
average, American’s weigh about 20 pounds more today than they did 20 years
ago. If we weighed the same
as we did 20 years ago, our cars would be carrying aroun less weight and we all
know that there is a weight/fuel consumption teade off holding all else equal,
a lighter car consumes less fuel).
So,
in true Env-Econ style, I thought I would do some quick, highly stylized, most
likely innacurate, back of the envelope calculations–and then leave it to you
to rip it apart.
First some data:
•Average
weight of a gas-engine car: 4,000 pounds
•Average
weight of an American in 2012: 178 pounds (assuming 50/50 men and women).
•Average
weight of an Ameican in 1990: 158 pounds. (“Both figures
are nearly 20 pounds higher than the average that men and women reported in
1990″)
•Fuel
consumption reduction for a reduction in weight: 2-4% reduction
in fuel consumption for every 10% reduction in vehicle weight–we will assume
3%.
•Average
fuel consumption in U.S.: 8.5 million
barrels per day (357 million gallons @ 42 gallons per barrel)
•Average
fuel consumption In U.S.: 130,305,000,000 gallons per year (357 million x 365
days/year).
Now for some calculations:
A
20 pound decrease in vehicle+driver weight from 4,178 pounds to 4,158 pounds is
a 0.4786979% decrease in vehicle weight.
If
for every 10% decrease in vehicle weight, fuel consumption decreases by 3%,
then that 0.4786979% decrease in vehicle weight will result in a 0.14360937%
decrease in gasoline consumption.
Given
gas consumption of 130,305,000,000 gallons per year, that 20 pound reduction in
average weight will result in a savings of 187,130,190 gallons of gasoline per
year.
At
an average price of $3.50 per gallon, losing an average of 20 pounds will save
$654,955,665 per year–or $2.73 for every adult in
the U.S. per year.
Enough
to buy a non-fat, no-whip, skinny mocha latte–you know, to keep the weight off.
EDITOR'S NOTE: removing unnecessary items from your vehicles will have the same effect. Every pound you carry means more gas (or diesel) you burn. Lighten the load, save gas. However, you don't get the health benefit that you get from slimming down.
