+

Cookies on the Business Insider India website

Business Insider India has updated its Privacy and Cookie policy. We use cookies to ensure that we give you the better experience on our website. If you continue without changing your settings, we\'ll assume that you are happy to receive all cookies on the Business Insider India website. However, you can change your cookie setting at any time by clicking on our Cookie Policy at any time. You can also see our Privacy Policy.

Close
HomeQuizzoneWhatsappShare Flash Reads
 

The average American's annual food waste, water use, energy consumption, garbage, and carbon emissions in 1 simple chart

Apr 22, 2018, 18:47 IST

Shutterstock

Advertisement
  • The United States comprises about 5% of the world's population.
  • However, Americans consume an far more than that share of the world's food, water, and energy. They also generate a lot of emissions and garbage in the process.
  • In honor of Earth Day, a revealing chart shows how many resources the average American uses per year.

America's thirst for resources seems unquenchable, and its ability to generate waste can be shocking.

In 2015, for example, 5% of the world's population lived in the United States, but the country consumed about 18% of the planet's energy, according to EIA data.

Meanwhile, Americans in 2010 had a 430-billion-pound bounty of food, yet wasted about 31% of it. That's roughly 141 trillion calories' worth of grub, according to USDA statistics.

In honor of Earth Day on Sunday, April 22, Business Insider crunched these and other numbers to create a full picture of what the average American uses, wastes, and emits each year. Take a look:

Advertisement

Shayanne Gal/Business Insider

NOW WATCH: There's a place at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean where hundreds of giant spacecraft go to die

You are subscribed to notifications!
Looks like you've blocked notifications!
Next Article