Hard to Put This in Perspective
The WaPo reports BP crapped 4.9 million barrels (205.8 million gallons) of oil into the Gulf of Mexico.
Or about a quarter of the U.S. daily consumption of oil, per CIA World Factbook 2008 estimate.
But double that of India, whose population is significantly larger than my native land. So per capita, it’s pretty sad .
But not as sad as Canada! Canadians rank 19 by that measure, above the U.S. at 23. Small consolation, though, since Canada consumes only 2,260,000 a day (CIA) or 71.009 bbl per 1,000 people, compared to the U.S. 68.627 bbl.
If we cut down to UK levels (29.008 bbl per 1,000 ppl), we would still out-consume China by about 800,000 barrels a day. (That’s 8.7 m U.S. vs. China’s 7.9 m.) To achieve even that will require Man on the Moon efforts at the government level, not to mention WWII notions of national sacrifice overtaking our consumer culture. Still, after we collect reparations from BP, we should ask the Brits how they do it. After all, at over half the rate of oil consumption, they still maintain a comfortable lifestyle AND contribute to illegal wars of opportunity.
