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How US Energy Emissions Compare (It’s Not Pretty)

This eye-opening map from the Sightline Institute's blog uses US Department of Energy figures to demonstrate how individual states stack up against nations from around the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions from energy use. The figures are especially astonishing when you look at the population comparisons (which can be found in spreadsheet form here). Just a couple of examples: Arizona, with 5.6 million residents, produces comparable emissions to Nigeria, with 122.8 million. And 19.2 New Yorkers manage to produce as much as 68.1 million Turks. Overall the map represents a comparison of fewer than 300 million Americans to more than 1.5 billion people in the other nations listed.
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This eye-opening map from the Sightline Institute’s blog uses US Department of Energy figures to demonstrate how individual states stack up against nations from around the world in terms of greenhouse gas emissions from energy use. The figures are especially astonishing when you look at the population comparisons (which can be found in spreadsheet form here). Just a couple of examples: Arizona, with 5.6 million residents, produces comparable emissions to Nigeria, with 122.8 million. And 19.2 New Yorkers manage to produce as much as 68.1 million Turks. Overall the map represents a comparison of fewer than 300 million Americans to more than 1.5 billion people in the other nations listed.

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Sarah Goodyear is a journalist and author who has covered cities and transportation for publications such as Grist, CityLab, and Streetsblog.

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