AMERICAN HEMP CORPORATION, LLC
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CARBON EMISSIONS ILLUSTRATOR
What Even Is A Metric Ton of CO2?
American Hemp Corporation, LLC is proud to showcase our full commitment to helping the emerging industrial hemp industry understand the opportunity for growing industrial hemp fiber. Browse below to get a better idea of what we are talking about.
WHAT IS A METRIC TON OF CO2?
Let's explore first what a ton is.
WHAT IS A TON?
A ton is 2,000lbs. 32,000 ounces. 907,185 grams. Approximately 10 NBA players, 9 NFL running backs or 7 linemen. Or perhaps 266 newborn babies.
CO2 AND CO2E
Besides Co2 the most common greenhouse gases are methane, nitrous oxide and a group of synthetic substances called fluorinated gases. But CO2 is the most prevalent, so these other gases are equated to CO2 so when discussing overall emissions these other gases are measured as CO2E.
MAIN SOURCE
The Environmental Protection Agency states that the primary generator of CO2 and CO2E emissions are the burning of fossil fuels and natural gas.
ONE TON CO2/CO2E EQUIVALENT
Its 2,476 miles from San Francisco to Atlanta. A ton of CO2/CO2E is generated in that car trip. That is .8lbs every mile. In 2007 the United States had 254,000,000 vehicles in use. That means the USA generated 203,200,000lbs or 101,600 tons of CO2/CO2E for EVERY mile driven.
FIVE TON CO2/CO2E EQUIVALENT
We all can not hunt or fish for fresh food each day so most of us make use of refrigeration to sustain our food. Five tons of CO2/CO2E emissions are generated from just eleven refrigerators running for one year powered by fossil fuel plants. As of 2019, there are 328,239,523 persons living in the US. Lets factor that by 4 per household and say only 60% have refrigerators powered by fossil plants. Divide that number by eleven refrigerators and multiply by 5 tons. So that means last year our household refrigeration needs generated 22,379,996 tons of CO2/CO2E emissions.
TEN TONS CO2/CO2E EQUIVALENT
In 2019 there were approximately 742,999 SUVs sold in the US. Just than number alone by the time 2020 is over with would mean that the US generated over 7,429,990 tons of CO2/CO2E emissions. Just those sold in 2019.
SOLUTION A - PLANT TREES?
How long must we wait? Trees take from five to 25 years to grow and are only made up of 33% cellulose which uses photosynthesis to absorb the carbon.
SOLUTION B - INDUSTRIAL HEMP!
This says it all. Why? You can plant 20-30 seeds per square foot per acre which is almost 1,000,000 plants all containing 77% cellulose!
Carbon photos courtesy of EPA 2020