Via the Guardian, the Environmental Defence watchdog group has a new report out showing that...

• Americans represent 5 percent of the world's population but drive almost a third of its cars


• Americans' cars account for nearly half the carbon dioxide pumped out of exhaust pipes into the atmosphere each year


• U.S. cars play a disproportionate role in global warming because they're less fuel efficient than passenger vehicles used elsewhere in the world; they emit 15 percent more carbon dioxide because they're less fuel-efficient and are driven across America's wide open spaces (see "sprawl," "exurbs"...)


• The average U.S. passenger vehicle has a fuel economy of less than 20mpg
• Overall U.S. fuel consumption will continue to rise in the next few years


• More SUVs are still sold in the U.S. than any other type of car. (This has been true since 2002.)


• SUVs "soon will be the main source of automotive CO2 emissions", emitting the equivalent of 55 large coal-fired power plants.

Ethanol, anyone? Read the full report here.

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