Sources of Data
Sources of Data
Our CO2 Waste Recycling Program uses widely accepted data published by recognised and unbiased sources including the United Nations, The World Bank, and The European Environmental Agency. We have also used data from mainstream publications including Nature Magazine, the Economist and leading scientific journals including Scientific American.
Variations do occur between some of the published data for sound reasons - different base assumptions are used to make up the data, rounding of figures, and different dates for collecting and calculating the data.
We will continue to monitor and use the most up to date information available.
Our Contingency
We have included a contingency of over 10% in our figures, recycling 10% or more carbon dioxide in our program to account for:-
- variations in the above sources of data over time;
- to account for increasing levels of carbon dioxide pollution (post COVID) from fossil fuel emissions and catastrophic events like forest fires and faster than expected melting of ice which of itself releases CO2 into the air;
- reductions in nature's 'lung capacity' to recycle CO2 through deforestation (we cut down over 10 billion trees a year) and killing Phytoplankton in the seas.
Sources of Data:-
46% of all trees have been cut down, Nature Magazine - Mapping Tree Density at a Global Scale, Nature doi: 10.1038/nature 14967. Sources vary on the number of trees being cut down every year - 10 billion to 15 billion trees a year. The total number of trees cut down appears to be of the order of 50%.
The loss of Phytoplankton in the seas, Scientific American: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/phytoplankton-population/. This data was published in 2010 and we can assume it has worsen since.
Atmospheric CO2 levels and global warming, NASA Climate Change and Scientific American: The levels of Carbon in our atmosphere are measured every year using well established practices. https://climate.nasa.gov/evidence/, https://climate.nasa.gov/vital-signs/global-temperature/https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/co2-emissions-will-break-another-record-in-2019/.
Human Respiratory rates and CO2 produced by breathing and exercising, Healthline, US Library of Medicine: https://www.healthline.com/health/normal-respiratory-rate, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5732209/, https://www.globe.gov/explore-science/scientists-blog/archived-posts/sciblog/2008/08/11/release-of-carbon-dioxide-by-individual-humans/comment-page-1/index.html
Amount of CO2 expelled eating, Science Daily: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/11/101102131108.htm, We have found just a single research paper on this subject and it's results will obviously vary with diet, poverty and starvation. This research published by Science Daily is based on a developed country meat eating diet. So by it's nature, there is built in contingency. It is noted that producing food of itself creates CO2 and there are therefore overlaps between this figure and fossil fuel emissions.
CO2 recycling rates of trees, European Environmental Agency and detailed calculations - there is wide consensus trees recycle 'more than' 48 pounds of CO2 a year, although there is strong evidence to suggest it could be much more, nonetheless we use 48 pounds. Note: non forest trees i.e. trees in urban environments recycle less and live considerably shorter lives. See https://www.eea.europa.eu/articles/forests-health-and-climate-change/key-facts/trees-help-tackle-climate-change, http://www.unm.edu/~jbrink/365/Documents/Calculating_tree_carbon.pdf, https://www.co2meter.com/blogs/news/could-global-co2-levels-be-reduced-by-planting-trees
The 'Lifetime' CO2 absorption rates of Trees data for this will vary with tree type, location, and lifetime, however it is not relevant to our CO2 Waste Recycling Program as we use widely accepted data on annual absorption rates over a period of time significantly less than average total tree lifetimes.
Life expectancy of Trees, Tentree blog discussion: Tree life expectancy depends on the tree type, where they are planted and if and how they are protected. Eden Reforestation projects plants a variety of tress on our behalf, in protected rainforests around the world. For discussion on tree lifetimes see, for example https://www.tentree.com/blogs/posts/how-long-do-trees-live
Global fossil fuel emissions calculated per capita, World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/EN.ATM.CO2E.PC
Latest total global CO2 emissions, United Nations: https://www.unenvironment.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2019
Life expectancy of human beings, Economist magazine, World in Data https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2013/01/08/the-age-of-man, https://ourworldindata.org/life-expectancy
Information relating to plastic pollution in the seas: https://www.ellenmacarthurfoundation.org/assets/downloads/news/New-Plastics-Economy_Background-to-Key-Statistics_19022016v2.pdf
Amount by weight of poop for an average person, Live Science (used to compare solid wastes with CO2 waste production): https://www.livescience.com/61966-how-much-you-poop-in-lifetime.html
