walkit.com helps avert looming threat from floating elephants

Submitted by jamiewallace on March 2, 2006 - 17:09.

The London Borough of Sutton website helpfully provides visitors with the following statistics:

"The average car (based on a 4 seater family car) emits 4 tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) a year. In December 2004, there were 31 million cars on the roads in Britain. That means 31 million cars emitting 124 millions tonnes of CO2.

Hard to imagine such high numbers?

To help, imagine an African elephant. An adult male weighs about 4 tonnes. That's the equivalent of the CO2 emissions of one car.

Now imagine 31 million African Elephants floating over our heads."

I struggle to imagine 1 floating elephant, let alone 31 million. I've never quite understood the whole 'tonnes of gas' thing. To me it's as incomprehensible as 'yards of water' or 'pints of wood'.

I think I got a C in O level physics.

But if walkit.com is needed for the impending floating elephant threat, we're ready to help. 1 comment | global warming | climate change | carbon dioxide