> A zero-carbon lifestyle is completely unattainable for the simple reason that we breathe out CO2. Zero deforestation is crazy because people rely on wood for

> A zero-carbon lifestyle is completely unattainable for the simple reason that we breathe out CO2. Zero deforestation is crazy because people rely on wood for heating in winter. The total amount of carbon dioxide is the problem, not emissions themselves. Exhaling carbon dioxide from metabolizing produce that extracted carbon from the short term cycle makes no difference. Cars or other fossil fuel consuming processes on the other hand introduce extra carbon into the short term cycle by burning substances that contain carbon that was sequestrated long ago. This can happen indirectly, e.g. by converting oil into plastics first and later burning these plastics as garbage in a power plant. Boom, extra carbon emitted and nobody really noticed.