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Can someonr explain thr math of how someone is supposed to be able to be even close to net zero carbon footprint? (lemmy.world)

submitted 1 year ago by [email protected] to c/[email protected]

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I just got a CO2 meter and checked the levels in my house and went down a rabbit hole trying to address the issue. Apparently it would take 249 areca palms to offset the carbon RESPIRATION of one adult.

So okay 249 trees just for me to breathe, not to mention the rest of the bad things we all do.

So how can this math ever balance? 249 trees just to break even seems like an impossible number. Then all the flights I have been on, miles driven, etc.

I feel like that's... Way too many trees. Is it hopeless or am I missing something?

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[–] [email protected] 21 points 1 year ago (1 children)

            
              Folks generally don't consider offsetting their own breath, that's extreme.
The vast majority of oxygen comes from phytoplankton in the ocean.

[–] [email protected] 14 points 1 year ago

Offsetting your own breath seems unnecessary. A human being does not produce CO2 out of nowhere. It comes from oxygen, which we breathe in, and carbon which we eat. The food absorbs the carbon from the atmosphere when it grows, so taken in total the whole cycle is completely carbon neutral.

The reason CO2 concentration is increasing is because we're digging it up from the ground and releasing it into the air. Taking CO2 from the air and then putting it back a short time later is not really an issue.

Also, I'm really questioning OP's numbers here. The CO2 a person produces should be absorbed by about 15 trees, from what I can find. Or is he trying to solve the global climate problem with only potted plants?