Where Is Eden?

INNER SPACE...

Those pesky ‘carbon-footprints’—what are they and why are they so important that so many [would-be] experts are making such a fuss? So much so a few seem to think another ‘tax’ will make a difference, but following Canada over a Carbon-Tax cliff, is the opposite of a solution…

First let me repeat again that for the last 4 billion [plus] years of unsettled weather Earth’s climate has been continually changing. [Good thing too or we’d still be fending off rogue dinosaurs.] Earth has experienced five major ice ages and in between those were warming cycles. [Example: all along the front range of the Rocky Mountain chain from Colorado to Alberta {Canada} was once tropical beach.] None of the warming cycles were caused by burning fossil fuels, or cows farting in pastures, but by major eruptions from hundreds of active volcanic activities.

And speaking of volcanos…both surface and subsurface/below our ocean - what carbon footprint do they leaving in any given year? I’m thrilled you asked…

I'll start with CO2 - but also include SO2, because Earth has an impressive collection of constant volcanic activity. In addition to Hawaii, Old Faithful in Yellowstone Park is a well-known active degassing caldera vent. However, the eruption on the Spanish island of La Palma was only one of over 500 known recent active [last 100 years] and current active [last 20 years] volcanoes - spewing not only CO2 [Carbon Dioxide], but also SO2 [Sulphur Dioxide]. The top 10 volcanoes degas both of these toxins at a rate between 13Tg and 18.5Tg [Teragram/Thero-Transition] into Earth's atmosphere. [How do volcanos get taxed?]

*Comparatively - Earth's [highly] active volcano pool makes emissions from the tailpipes of a 1970s traffic jam of muscle cars - as safe to breath as oxygen.

And speaking of those peaceful cows grazing in pastures all over Earth/Eden - what carbon footprint do they contribute? Though - in all fairness let’s on pick on North American livestock when there are approximately 6, 400+ other mammals with regular flatulent habits. Let’s not let giraffes, elephants or moose or humans off that hook.

After humans take in oxygen the exhaled byproduct is carbon dioxide. Worldwide, the average person produces about four tons of CO2 each year, while in the United States, the figure is around 16 tons per person annually. Between 1850 and 2022, human activities contributed more than 1 trillion metric tons of CO2 to the atmosphere. So, Fellow-Travellers since the planet’s population over the last 60 years went from 4Billion to 8Billion our species of mammal certainly surpassed the pasture space occupied by domestic farm animals. [How will breathing be taxed?]

Exhaling and gastric issues aside human activity [everything] - is after the sun goes down - absorbed by plants. Currently 25 to 31% of human caused carbon emissions is absorbed by plant life with another similar amount absorbed by the oceans. So - plant more trees, broad leaf plants and succulents.

**What about that other 40% of unabsorbed CO2? Can we live without disposable diapers?

The last statistics I found [Jan 2018-Jan 2019] for the number of disposable diapers in the United States for one year was between 28 and 34 billion! For this product alone in the U.S. about 250,000 trees were used as well as over 3.4 billion gallons of oil. That same amount of fossil fuel could have powered over 5,222,000 cars in that same 12 months. [Do I see a show of hands from the gallery of environmental activists switching immediately [back] to cloth???]

It was discovered, then widely shared [via news and social media] over the last 15 years that the best method of mitigating wildfires were regular controlled burns near residential developments that bordered natural reserves and allowing natural forest fires to burn in areas that didn’t endanger people or development. However, few public prevention policies were implemented, in favor of Declaring a formal Natural Disaster for Federal Funds. The problem with this [after-the-fact pattern] was/is few of those funds [if any] went to property or homeowners, left to beg or bargain with their insurance carrier - if they still had one.

Thirty years ago, major fires were rare and the people who routinely set fires deliberately were rare crimes. In tracking those high-profile newsmakers since about 2000, fighting forest fires has become another 'industry'. Beginning in the 1960s in Europe and North America we stopped actively managing forests. Environmentalists protested logging, but not with an effective alternate plan - they just insisted that 'all' tree harvesting stop. Since paper products and housing was still needed specific areas were leased, but clear cutting instead of targeted cutting created an imbalance with vast amounts of topsoil erosion a problem after rain. Areas with a complete ban on all tree harvesting created an opposite imbalance with too much fire-fuel undergrowth.

Between 2001 and 2017 there were 70,000 wildfires a year that emitted vast amounts of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, hydrogen cyanide and Sulphur dioxide into Earth's atmosphere. [How does that get taxed?]

***Now we come to the search for those galaxies far-far-away. Outerspace pursuits contribute to major CO2 emissions. NASA, Space X and Blue Origin are not environmentally friendly at-all at-all at-all.

Digging for current data on this was not easy though not surprising since major funding is involved. Big money with public and private investment has covered the ‘stars’ in scientists’ eyes with rose colored glasses. Review of 2022 launches suggested that black carbon (soot) in the upper atmosphere from rockets could be 500 times more warming than soot emitted at ground level, because its heat absorbing. Further research analysis found that just in the first stage of a rocket launch around 116 tons of CO2 was emitted in 165 seconds! Yikes! [Okay, tax the space program?]

If environmentalists are truly serious about those pesky carbon emissions, then why don’t they pressure the United Nations for World-Peace? Hannibal crossed the Alps in 218BC. How well has human society evolved in the last four thousand-plus years since…

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has directly caused or paved the way to the emission of 175 million Tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere. The emissions are related to reconstruction, actual warfare, and fires.

During the first 60 days following the October 7 Hamas attack, 281,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide were generated, with the majority attributed to Israel's aerial bombardment and ground invasion of Gaza. This is equivalent to burning 150,000 tons of coal annually in 75 coal-fired power plants^.

Brown University estimated that from 2001 to 2017 the U.S. military greenhouse gas emissions in Afghanistan was 1.212 million metric Tonnes of CO2. The invasion and occupation of Iraq was 400 million metric Tonnes of CO2. [Will a Carbon-Tax include war?]

Okay the point to my paragraph after paragraph of CO2 culprits is this. There are sooo many more problem layers to the Carbon-Footprint issue that don’t get attention. Decades of despicable human behavior brought us to this environmental crossroad- but a catchall label “Global-Warming” [since morphed now to “Climate-Change”] has no meaning if we simply cheery-pick an obscure villain like the humble plastic straw when 60,000 plastic water bottles are a greater contradiction each day...