Again, China had better beware using these per capita numbers so much, because they're not looking good for China. China's carbon emissions per capita are already pretty much equal to those of a country like France. In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
In any case, your other point is well taken. If the United States could make a significant commitment to unilaterally reducing fossil fuel consumption and carbon emissions -- and then making significant progress on that commitment -- then that would take away a huge swath of Chinese retorts to the effect that "You 'Westerners' have no right to pressure us, since you're still such unreconstructed dirty energy hogs." Cynicism is intellectual treason.
California is the second largest consumers of gasoline and diesel fuels in the world, surpassed only by the United States as a whole. In 2006, Californians consumed an estimated 20 billion gallons of gasoline and diesel fuel on the state's roadways, an increase of nearly 50 percent over the last 20 years.
Doing the calculations, if you estimate 23 gallons of gasoline from one barrel of oil, that gives you:
20 billion gallons of gasoline in 2006 ÷ (23 gallons of gasoline/barrel of oil) ÷ (365 days/year)
≈ 2.4 million barrels of oil/day in 2006
(i.e. exactly within your estimate)
In 2006 China's oil consumption was estimated at 6.3 million barrels per day.
(I assume that since then China's oil consumption has grown much faster than California's.)
Don't understand why or how that report states that California is the second largest consumers of gasoline and diesel fuels in the world, surpassed only by the United States as a whole. Cynicism is intellectual treason.
Light distillates consist of aviation and motor gasolines and light distillate feedstock.
Middle distillates consist of jet, heating kerosenes, gas and diesel oils (including marine bunkers).
So, China uses inordinate amount of oil as fuel, which skews the comparisons. California probably uses even less oil as fuel, further biasing the comparison based on population alone.
