In discussions of oil on this website, I have noticed a lot of (what I believe are) myths and misconceptions about American gasoline consumption as it compares to other developed nations where prices are much higher. This diary is a response where I present facts that should help to dispel some of those myths.
First, let me start by mentioning what I read that sparked this diary. Earlier today I posted this comment in a diary about U.S. gasoline breaking the $3/gal mark:
[US$3/gal gasoline is] still very cheap on an international scale of OECD nations. Last week I paid US$4.50/gal and many Europeans pay US$7/gal or more.
This inevitably produced defensive replies including these two:
but europe has different urban form, population density and public transportation.
the price of gas doesn't bit as much to daily activity for a good number of population.
This compared to 1-2 hours daily commute for amny suburban dweller.
Yes but in Europe and Asia they focus on Mass Transit. The supermarket is down the street instead of 10 miles away in a new shopping plaza. This country will never be set up that way.
We need cars with higher fuel mpg. Well we just have to get rid of Bush and Cheney and the prices will drop at least a dollar.
While I don't want to put words in the mouths of others, it seems that some people get rather defensive about keeping American gasoline prices low and justifying the high American consumption of the commodity. Common themes here include:
- Americans need low gas prices because they have the longest commute times.
- American cities have a layout that requires driving long distances to amenities.
- The United States has such long intercity distances that more travel is necessary.
- European and Asian cities have excellent public transport, so fewer people need cars.
There appears to be a general misconception that the United States has a monopoly on cities with poor public transport, suburban sprawls, congested long commutes, and massive intercity distances. I'd like to dispel a few of those in this diary.
First, let's look at gas prices and consumption figures.
GAS PRICES IN OECD NATIONS
Recent approximate gasonline prices for a number of selected OECD nations (from September Quarter 2006 OECD data) as a ratio to the mean United States price, including all taxes, to one decimal place:
Nation | Gas price ratio to USA | | |
Mexico | 0.9 |
United States | 1.0 |
Canada | 1.2 |
Australia | 1.3 |
New Zealand | 1.3 |
Japan | 1.6 |
France | 2.0 |
Germany | 2.1 |
UK | 2.2 |
Norway | 2.3 |
[Update: I added a small graphic showing the scale of gas prices for OECD nations. For each nation, the green bar is the base price and the light blue bar shows gas taxes. The USA is second on the left, between Mexico and Canada.]
Every OECD nation other than Mexico has a gasoline price at least 20% higher than the USA, and many Europeans pay more than twice the American price.
PER-CAPITA OIL CONSUMPTION
Now, let's look at oil consumption. First, total oil consumption - light distillates, middle distillates, fuel oil and other uses, all combined. My figures are from the BP Statistical Review of World Energy, using population data from Wikipedia to obtain per-capita measures. Again, a number of illustrative selected nations:
Nation | Daily bbl per 1000 people | Ratio to USA |
Belgium* | 74.3 | 1.08 |
United States | 68.5 | 1.00 |
Canada | 68.2 | 0.99 |
Netherlands | 65.4 | 0.95 |
Australia | 42.5 | 0.62 |
Japan | 42.0 | 0.62 |
New Zealand | 36.4 | 0.53 |
Germany | 31.4 | 0.46 |
France | 30.6 | 0.45 |
Russia | 19.5 | 0.28 |
China | 5.3 | 0.08 |
(*)
The figure for Belgium includes Luxembourg.
So other than the Western European lowlands where a significant amount of fuel oil is used, most developed nations use less than two thirds the amount of oil per person as the USA and Canada.
Since the above figures measure total oil use, let's consider light distillates to get more accurate comparisons for gasoline and diesel. Light distillate use as a percentage of total use by region is:
Region | Light distillate % of total use |
United States | 46% |
Europe | 23% |
World | 30% |
The USA accounts for 25% of world oil consumption, but 38% of world light distillate consumption. While light distillates power several forms of transport including aviation, the proportion of light distillates used for land transport is high. So we can confidently estimate that nearly 40% of the world consumption of gasoline happens in the United States.
JUSTIFYING AMERICAN GASOLINE USE
So is this high gas consumption justified? I can't speak much for Europe, having never set foot on the continent. However, I can make some comparisons between the United States and the two "down-under" nations in the above tables.
In terms of sprawling congested cities, inadequate public transport, intercity distances, a reliance on travel for agriculture and car ownership rates, Australia and New Zealand are far more akin to the United States than many Western European nations. I'll make a case for their comparison now.
AUSTRALIA
First, a few points about Australia. The area of Australia is, to within 2%, about the same as the continental 48 United States. The largest city Sydney has 4.3 million people and it is a massive sprawl - probably a much larger area than any 4 million person city in the USA. There is certainly some public transport, but hardly the European utopia that defenders of American gas use seem to think exists in every foreign city. The "big four" eastern Australian cities with populations over a million (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Adelaide) have intercity distances ranging from 500 to 1300 miles, and the other million-plus city (Perth, on the west coast) is a long 2000+ miles away from the rest - about the distance from Los Angeles to Washington DC. Australia is big.
On top of all that, Australia uses a lot of energy for its agriculture and mining. In fact, it is one of the very few nations that uses more coal per capita than the United States. Australia's industries require much travel for their infrastructure. Yet what is the Australian use of oil? From the table above, each Australian uses only 62% as much oil as each American.
NEW ZEALAND
Now let's look at New Zealand. You may think that such a small nation has no comparison to the United States. Let me correct that. Firstly, an entire third of the national population lives in the largest city, Auckland. Much like Sydney in Australia, Auckland is sprawled over a massive area and the layout (restricted by volcanic hills and a narrow isthmus with ocean harbours on both sides) makes for a congestion nightmare. Despite the grossly congested motorways and commute times that rival many American cities, Aucklanders love their cars and public transport use is low.
For the two thirds of New Zealanders (myself included) who are fortunate enough to live outside this traffic mess, car ownership is very high by OECD standards and the other cities have their share of congestion. (A more detailed look at public transport in Christchurch, population 350 thousand, can be found in one of my earlier Daily Kos diaries, where I also noted that congestion even in a city this size is becoming a major problem.) Another unique factor of transport in New Zealand is that the nation has (for Western economies) a massive reliance on agriculture, particularly dairy farming - the nation produces 3% of the world's milk. The transport requirements for such an agriculture sector are high. As a representative statistic, I've read that transport accounts for 41% of New Zealand total energy use compared to only 34% in the United Kingdom. Sorry, I don't have a comparable figure for the USA.
Finally, the argument that New Zealanders only face short intercity business travel distances is simply false. So many large companies operate in both down-under nations, that business travel across the Tasman Sea separating Australia and New Zealand is common. When the major cities of both nations are seen as a single group, intercity distances are very large. Auckland to Sydney is 1350 miles.
So what is the New Zealand use of oil per person? From the tables above, each New Zealander uses only 53% as much oil as each American.
CONCLUSION
In conclusion, we can see that there are developed nations that have:
- high proportions of their city population commuting by car
- large-area sprawling cities with poor (by European standards) mass transit
- cities with geographical layouts that make travel inefficient
- high oil dependence for transportation support of industry and agriculture
- relatively large intercity distances that are frequently travelled for business
- yet still have only 50-60% the per capita oil use of the United States.
Frankly, the "we need cheap gasoline because we have such badly designed cities" argument is wearing thin. There are commuter nightmares in Frankenstein-layout cities all over this planet.
According to one website I've seen with 2001 figures, the state with the highest per capita gasoline use was ... Wyoming. Followed by North Dakota, then South Dakota, then Alabama. Hardly textbook examples of suburban sprawls and long commute times. [Update: Thanks to pb who posted a link in the comments to more reliable 2004 data here, showing Wyoming and Oklahoma using the most.]
So is American gasoline use really a result of long commute times, suburban sprawls and intercity distances that do not exist elsewhere? Or is it more a result of excessive leisure use and lifestyle habits that exploit its low cost relative to other developed nations? People here will continue to blame commute times and urban design. I disagree, and I believe the facts support my view.
[Update: I should have put more emphasis on engine size, which I believe is a big factor. The new F150 has engine sizes from 4.2 to 5.4 liters, which is massive by international standards. The top selling New Zealand cars mostly have engines 1.8L or smaller, and the most popular small truck equivalent to the F150 in New Zealand only has engine size options from 2.7 to 4.0 liters.]
****
Tags were chosen with help of the Tagfinder section Environment: Energy.