Obama will burn more than 35,000 gallons of fuel on Earth Day, emitting 375 TONS of carbon dioxide
- President took Marine One chopper to Andrews Air Force Base and will fly to Washington state and Tokyo, Japan on Tuesday
- 'Earth Day is about taking action,' the White House declared shortly after takeoff
- Air Force One consumes 5 gallons of jet fuel for every mile it flies
- The U.S. Energy Information Administration estimates that burning the fuel emits 21.1 pounds of CO2 per gallon
- Total presidential fuel consumption for Earth Day, not including automobile motorcades, is an estimated 35,609 gallons
President Barack Obama is marking the 44th Earth Day with a carbon-emitting extravaganza, spending more than 15 hours on Air Force One and 15 minutes aboard the Marine One helicopter.
Not including his motorcades in Oso, Washington, the site of a recent devastating mudslide, his trip will consume an estimated 35,565 gallons of fuel.
According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, the statistics arm of the Department of Energy, burning each gallon emits 21.1 pounds of carbon dioxide, bringing the president's Earth Day carbon footprint to more than 375.7 tons.
The White House did not respond to a question about any measures it might be taking – planting trees, for instance – to offset those emissions.
President Barack Obama boarded Air Force One at Andrews Air Force Base on Tuesday, en route to the state of Washington to visit with family members of victims of the deadly March 22 mudslide, and then on to Tokyo, Japan to meet Prime Minister Shinzo Abe
Air Force One, the president's private Boeing 747, burns about 5 gallons of jet fuel per minute, a rate that would have the typical car stranded halfway to the grocery store
Boeing's specifications for its 747 aircraft, which serves as Air Force One, include an estimate for fuel consumption of 5 gallons per mile. Tuesday's presidential travel will span more than 7,100 miles over two continents.– more than one-quarter of the way around the earth.
Sikorsky, whose HV-3d Sea King helicopter flew Obama from the White House to Andrews Air Force Base, burns an additional 176.7 gallons of fuel per hour, requiring more than 44 gallons – about four times the size of a modern economy car's fuel tank – for the estimated 15-minute trip.
A White House pool reporter noted that Marine One' landing on the South Lawn of the White House 'caused a flurry of hundreds of tree flower petals.'
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Mid-morning Tuesday, the White House issued a sweeping online essay calling for renewed awareness of threats from global warming.
'Our health, our economy, our security, and our planet’s future are once again threatened by pollution and environmental degradation,' the White House's official blog claimed.
Warning: 'Our health, our economy, our security, and our planet¿s future are once again threatened by pollution and environmental degradation', the White said on its blog today
'Our climate is changing, and that change is being driven by human activity. Every year, the United States pumps millions of tons of carbon dioxide pollution and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.'
'Earth Day is about taking action,' the White House declared.
Obama's trip will have more than an environmental cost, draining $228,288 from the taxpayer-funded U.S. Treasury for every hour it's in the air.
The Air Force's estimate brings the president's airfare to $3.47 million.
The United States ranks 12th in the world among all nations for per capita carbon dioxide emissions.
Obama is visiting the town of Oso, Washington, the site of a deadly March 22 mudslide. He will meet with victims' families as well as first responders.
His trip to Tokyo will include a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, and a visit with the nation's emperor and empress.
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