It's pretty much common knowledge that some countries use more resources than others. Rich countries tend to eat more meat, have more leisure activities and use more money than poorer countries. But, just looking at something like overall energy use isn't a fair way to examine who is using more resources. After all, the countries with larger populations are going to use more resources because they'll have a greater need. A smarter way to compare energy use country to country is to use per capita, or per person, measures. Not only does it give a fair comparison for energy use across countries,but it also opens a window into the typical lifestyle in a given nation.
Ten countries are responsible for about two thirds of global carbon emissions from fuel use. The United States, with 5 percent of the world's population, accounts for nearly a quarter of the total. Between 1990 and 2003, U.S. energy-related emissions rose 16 percent. China ranks second, with a 14-percent share. Emissions there are up more than 47 percent since 1990, and China accounted for half of the global increase in 2003, although it still ranks far behind the industrial world in emissions per person.
Climate change is considered one of the world's most pressing challenges today, but it is far from the only cost associated with the burning of fossil fuels. In China and India, where pollution controls are minimal, the continued rapid growth in the use of coal is exacerbating local and regional pollution problems, ranging from sulfur and nitrogen oxides to mercury contamination. Scientists have concluded that growing up in a city with polluted air is about as harmful to a person's health as living with a parent who smokes.
Although air pollution is concentrated in cities, it can move well beyond them; the U. N. Environment Programme reported in 2002 that the "Asian Brown Cloud"—a two-mile-thick collection of soot, fly ash, and sulfuric acid that has been parked over South Asia for more than a decade—had killed tens of thousands of people in the past 10 years, including 52,000 in India in 1995 alone. A World Bank study projected that on average 1.8 million people would die prematurely each year between 2001 and 2020 because of air pollution.
www.fincarz.com