CO2 Now

by Michael McGee
July 16, 2009

The town is New York City.  The number is 3.6 trillion, as in the metric tons of long-lived greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere.    The place is 33rd Street and 7th Avenue, near Madison Square Garden, Penn Station and Macy’s.  The medium is a digital billboard, 70 feet high.  You could say it’s in the heart of the city where 500,000 commuters pass by every day.   The launch was June 18, 2009, compliments of the Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management division.

As Newsweek summarized, “National debt used to be the big number we all lived in fear of. Now it’s greenhouse gases.”  The “carbon counter” is not just visible from New York City.  You can view the ever-growing number right now from your computer screen.  Go to the website just launched by the Deutsche Bank website at know-the-number.com.   Watch the number and try this at the same time.  Count out one second intervals...“one one thousand”,  “two one thousand,” “three one thousand.”  Then note the number of metric tons that are accumulating in the atmosphere for each second.   By my count, it’s a thousand metric tons per second.  It makes me sad. 

And yet, the number is not built on emotion.  The number includes atmospheric CO2 which accounts for 63.5% of the global warming effect, plus 23 other long-lived greenhouse gases.  The number was developed in collaboration with scientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Climate Change.  The know-the-number website states:  “At the time of launch [June 18, 2009], the carbon counter shows there are 3.64 trillion metric tons of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere — increasing by approximately 2 billion metric tons per month, which is displayed as 800 tons per second on the sign.”

My estimate was a bit high.  It’s actually 800 metric tons per second, not 1,000.  So, how much does that weigh?  It’s like launching two 747 jet airplanes (the 747-400 model) into the atmosphere every second, except that they have been staying up there.

Here’s something else to try.   This time, you don’t need to be looking at the Carbon Counter.  Simply count out the seconds like this:  “two 747,” “four 747,” “six 747...”  You are now counting the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.  It may take some practice before sharing it with someone you know.    Still, almost anyone can be a carbon counter. 

The original idea for the digital billboard came from Kevin Parker, Global Head of Deutsche Asset Management.   He saw it as a way to give people a simple explanation to a complex problem.  

On the New York billboard, underneath the ever-growing number, there is a graph for atmospheric CO2 over an 800,000 year period.  Notice how the CO2 levels jump at the end to an abnormally high level.  It is rare to see such a side-by-side display of atmospheric CO2 concentrations and rising emissions of greenhouse gases.   It is a combination that gives people a lot of information that helps us see whether enough is being done to address the related problems of global warming, climate change and ocean acidification.   The approach taken by the Deutsche Bank Asset  Management division (and MIT) is commendable. 

As well, the know-the-number.com website posts more details about atmospheric CO2 and other greenhouse gases.  The one important thing that is missing is a reference to the upper ceiling identified by science for safe levels of atmospheric CO2: 350 parts per million.  It would certainly fit with the material that is on the know-the-number.com website.

The Deutsche Bank currently has a contract that enables it to maintain the billboard for three years.  Let’s hope that, in years and decades to come, the carbon counter stays in New York and on the minds of people everywhere.   I very much look forward to the day when the carbon counter starts rolling backwards...when some of those 747s start to land.   What will it take for that to happen?   I’ll do some digging and find out.   In the mean time, here are some Deutsche Bank links about its new  carbon counter:

Deutsche Bank  |  About the carbon counter  
Deutsche Bank  |  Release: DB launches carbon counter that tracks atmospheric greenhouse gases
Deutsche Bank  |  Carbon Counter Fact Sheet
Deutsche Bank  |  Press Release
Deutsche Bank  |  Carbon Counter Q&A
Twitter  |  @knowthenumber