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What on Earth were they thinking with these comparisons? > The United States alone emits more than 5 billion metric tons of CO2 annually — the weight of 13.2 m
by Syonyk 6y ago
What on Earth were they thinking with these comparisons?
> The United States alone emits more than 5 billion metric tons of CO2 annually — the weight of 13.2 million fully loaded Boeing 747s, or roughly 68,000 Washington Monuments.
I can at least visualize the size of a football field, or the size of an Olympic swimming pool, or something like that. I've no idea how to reason about the weight of a loaded 747 (apparently 379 metric tons?) or the weight of a tall stone building...
In any case, I expect the doubling is a good bet. Very few people, including those who claim to care about climate change and have the money to do quite a bit, are actually taking useful actions about the problem, instead acting like voting for the correct person is the least and most one can be expected to do.
- londons_explore 6y agoA better bet would be to divide by the number of people and days and say "the weight of a large suitcase every hour" or something along those lines.