[no subject]

Average mpg of US passenger fleet in 1980  was 16.0mpg.
Average mpg of US passenger fleet in 1990  was 20.3mpg.
Average mpg of US passenger fleet in 2000  was 22.0mpg.
                              averaging about  19.4mpg
                        Round _up_ to 20mpg to be conservative

Figuring 250 work days/year (I typically worked many weekends so this is
conservative) and 10-miles to work each way (saved one way or another), we
get:

(30 years * 250 days/year * 20 miles/day) / (20 miles/gallon)
= 7,500 gallons of gasoline.

Bobby wanted the answer with respect to carbon,  so we need to correct for
the differences in carbon content/volume between jet fuel and gasoline.

For hydrocarbon fluids with comparable densities and negligible
heterocyclic content (N,S, or O atoms), as these are, the C:H ratio is
primarily determined difference in specific gravity which we will correct
for, and secondarily by aliphatic (chain):aromatic (ring) ratio which ABIK
are comparable. (I've made hundreds of measurements of alkanes and
aromatics in hydrocarbon liquids, but not of jet fuel.)

Specific gravity of gasoline  typically ranges between 0.73 to 0.77;
So use 0.75

Specific gravity of Jet A-1 typically ranges between 0.75 to 0.84;
So use 0.80

So a good correction factor is 0.75/0.80 * gallons gasoline =
carbon-equivalent gallons Jet A-1 fuel

(0.75/0.80) * 7500 gallons = 7031 gallons;  use 7000 to be conservative.

7000 gallons /(150 gallons/transatlantic trip)  = 46.7 transatlantic trips

CARBON EQUIVALENT OF GASOLINE SAVED => FORTY-SIX TRANSATLANTIC ROUND TRIPS

In other words, my life-long minimal/non-use of gasoline for trips to work
*alone* is equivalent to more than 46 -- Forty-six -- round trip
transatlantic flights such as the one Bobby asked me to calculate. (Which
I did, quite exactly, as documented.)

And did I mention yet that the miles we *did* drive during the last 35
years were with cars that got up to 50 mpg like the VW Dasher Diesel we
had for 16 years? And that for the first 15 years of marriage and kids, my
wife and I had only one car? And most/many folks drive much more than 10
miles to work and(or) drive a pickup or SUV that gets much less than 20
mpg?

"Thanks for asking" ;-) ... Marc
Marc_F_Hult
www.ECOntrol.org