Most scientists agree on climate change. Initially, many
scientists agreed on global warming, which evolved
into climate change.
Some skeptics and naysayers counter the widely accepted science.
For example, offering that the earth cools and warms cyclically anyway,
regardless of human interaction. Of course, historical evidence exists for this hypothesis. A salient point worth exploring is human impact, vis-à-vis our actual contribution to changing the
temperature/climate of our temporary home, this little planet.
This post is not intended
to support arguments for or against climate change. Rather, it is intended to
encourage thought, debate and education… and perhaps even amuse.
There are about 1 billion cars on the planet today. Did you know? Or, you could ask, “What does
that matter?” And then, most people know that there are about 7+ billion people on
the planet.
So, as a result of
my being the self-appointed president of Isaac Newton’s Florida Fan Club, or
simply a Newtonian wannabe, or at least a fan of all things Newton other than
his hairstyle… I thought to dig a little deeper.
My first ‘discovery’
is actually a reminder of how stupid I would be without Google. Now, some
people who know me may offer that I possess stupidity regardless of Google, but
at the very least I am capable of investigative search.
Oh yeah, 1 billion
cars. I was distracted for a minute. And 7 billion people. Maybe it would be
okay to just use rounding for illustrative purposes? As in, there are about seven
people for every one car on the planet.
Now, according to my Google research efforts and analysis, I discovered that the ratio of
people to cars in the USA is about 1.3:1, and in China, 6.75:1.
These ratios above
probably make sense of human wealth and population distribution, and would elevate US car owners right to the top of the list of people most accused and/or presumed guilty of contributing to climate change.
Or global warming.
Or whatever you would prefer. I do not really care about the naming convention.
As long as we can just discuss it, become informed, and better educated about
important matters.
I thought that I
should avoid Mickey Mouse opinions and only focus on Mouse instead. So, I went
to the US Environmental Protection Agency’s website and found this calculation:
It would be okay to
ignore the formula but not the result.
The average vehicle
emits 4.7 metric tons of CO2 annually. Sounds like plenty huh? Well it is.
And because there are more than 1 billion vehicles globally emitting almost 5
metric tons per vehicle, I thought I would continue rounding the numbers… and
just call it 5 billion tons of CO2 emitted by vehicles.
5 Billion tons can
also be called 5 gigatons. You are welcome.
As a next step in my
scientific discovery, I thought to explore other things that emit CO2. I chose
not to pick on your pets or livestock. People get upset when you criticize
their cats, dogs or cows. I specifically excluded cow emissions from my
superficial research. Some people consider a cow to be a sacred animal. Others
consider a cow to be source of dairy, steak, leather, etc.
So, I decided to
pick a fight with us instead. As in, people. You know… the billions of little soft-celled,
carbon machines that breathe in oxygen, and emit CO2. Also, we do this 24/7,
unlike cars that spend most of their lives idle, parked, and not running. When
your car’s engine is not running, I would assume your human engine is still
ticking, and that you are still living, breathing? At least, I hope so, for everyone’s
sake!
So, how about the 7
billion humans roaming planet earth? The website "Information Is Beautiful" (and several others) calculates total human emissions to be about 37 gigatons.
I know, right?!
I was going to use
human CO2 emissions data from SkepticalScience, but that would have been
inappropriate because I am neither a Science skeptic, nor a climate change
naysayer or denier. In fact, quite the contrary. When presented evidence that
contradicts my current beliefs, I can pivot in seconds! In fact, people should prefer
evidence to pseudoscience.
So, I am not arguing
for or against climate change, but simply providing facts.
There are too many people on earth. I have done the math. More people than whatever
relevance you could possibly attach to owning a Prius, or Tesla. Never mind solar
panels! Although, I am confident that you meant well when you made those socially
respectable, caring, CAPEX investments. And, presumably, any/all good deeds still matter.
I have yet to arrive
at a solution for the problem that I have unfortunately identified. This will trouble me endlessly. My DNA compels me to find simple solutions to complex problems.
So, if you are able to assist, please share your thoughts.
In the meantime,
maybe you can plan a visit to your parents? I am sure they miss
you. When you make the road trip, take the V8 roadster. Because, you now know
that your parents helped cause this climate change problem... by having you!
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