America’s Most Pollutive Drivers
This is one of those contests you don’t want to win. “Tops in sending CO2 into the atmosphere to trap heat and contributing to climate change,” doesn’t really work well as a state motto. One method shows the Great Plains states as the worst offenders in America* in 2016. Before we start a-finger waggin’, let’s discuss how we got this data and look at some other ways to determine the biggest stinkers.
The infographic shows what happens when we assume everyone in each state drives the same number of miles. Of course, there are more people in Texas than North Dakota, but we’re normalizing the data so we can put the states on an even playing field.
We sliced the data in different ways to see how the states would rank.
The Most Noxious Populous
If we look at the total amount of gas used, in gallons, and then calculate how much each state contributed to that total — the usual suspects rise to the top. The most populous states reign if we consider pure emission amounts.
The Filthy Five
- California
- Texas
- Florida
- New York
- Georgia
Every one of the top 10 states with the highest populations is represented in the top 10 states with most CO2 emissions. Only Georgia outperforms their station by three positions. They’re the 8th most populous state, and the 5th on our list. Don’t brag, Georgia, this isn’t the time!
The Fresh Five
- Washington D.C.
- Alaska
- Vermont
- Rhode Island
- Delaware
Considering the results from The Filthy Five, the states (and district!) listed here should come as no surprise. Our condolences to Wyoming, coming in 6th, for being nudged out by our nation’s capital.
The Great Equalizer
What happens if we assume all states have the same number of vehicles? Using that approach to inform our normalization process, we can calculate the total gallons used for each vehicle. Now which states pollute the most?
The Filthy Five
- Arkansas
- Texas
- Kentucky
- Mississippi
- Georgia
Georgia and Texas maintain their spots, and are joined by other Southern states to round out the top five.
When you consider the top five in the infographic, this might surprise you: if you draw a line from the top of Missouri lengthwise across the country, not a single state north of that line appears in the rankings until you get to Maine (19th).
The Fresh Five
- Ohio
- Iowa
- Alaska
- Massachusetts
- New Jersey
Look, New Jersey, we’re all really proud of you. Please don’t let it get to your head; we didn’t factor in hairspray usage.
How did we figure out where all the CO2 was coming from?
Across our huge and geographically diverse user base we collect a ton of metrics for drivers in cities around the US. This isn’t a small sample size, either: we have over 12,000 cities in our data, and we analyzed over a billion vehicle miles to come up with our numbers.
Did we get it right?
What do you think? Surprised by any of the rankings? Have any questions about our methodology? We’d love to hear from you. Let us know in the comments.
Cheers,
Automatic Data Team
*For clarity, when we say “America” we are referring to the United States, and not factoring in the rest of the Americas.
