Gas Prices and World Population Growth Massachusetts Sierra Home Join the Sierra Club Vol. The Impact is carbon dioxide emissions. Population is the number of people.
Affluence is the amount of carbon-producing activity per person.
Technology is the amount of carbon released by the machines used in our activities. The more we drive, fly, heat and cool, and plug things in, the more carbon dioxide we produce per person. Bigger engines, lower fuel efficiency and inefficient power plants all increase carbon dioxide emissions. Most strategies for reducing carbon dioxide emissions and slowing climate change focus on technological improvements, such as switching to natural gas power plants and increasing automobile fuel efficiency. Yet with the low oil prices we ve had until recently, it s been hard to get people to use more efficient machines.