Comments on: The World’s Biggest Polluters

By: Down Under

Down Under — Fri, 23 Sep 2011 10:57:08 +0000

Many volatile organic compounds burn/oxidize to CO2. Benzene, a class 1 carcinogen burns to CO2. If benzene misses the burning process through incomplete combustion, it dumps in rivers, oceans, air, paddocks perhaps even on your dinner plate?

CO elevates tropospheric ozone and methane before oxidizing to CO2.

And yes, most volatile organic compounds are also hazardous air pollutants too. However, volatile organic compounds, when combined with nitrogen oxides, react to form ground-level ozone, or smog, which contributes to climate change. Burning fewer VOCs mitigates CO2 emissions.

Most assuredly, CO2 is a pollutant. It is simply the end product of some of the most dangerous chemicals known. All fossil fuel pollutants are inter-connected and pose a serious threat to human and animal health and our fragile planet.

There is no justification for the author to amend the title of his article.

By: David Dixon

David Dixon — Thu, 18 Aug 2011 14:20:01 +0000

Good point about the downside of per capita info. The upside is that it provides a measure of the efficiency a given political state has at controlling its pollution.

By: amy

amy — Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:04:28 +0000

it would be helpful to point out that Pollution and CO2 emissions are 2 totally different things. pollution involves particulates such as Vox, Nox, etc. and CO2 is Greenhouse gas, NOT a pollutant…

Pollution contributes to poor air quality, depletion of the ozone layer. and Greenhouse gasses such as CO2 and Methane lead to global warming.

It may behoove the author to change this title..

By: John Nemaric

John Nemaric — Mon, 11 Jul 2011 02:14:40 +0000

The pollotion per capita figure would be a useful measure if most of the countries around the world had similar sized populations. But because they don’t, this figure gives a greatly distorted impression. If there were a country that has a population of say 50 people. And they had a bonfire burning all the time, then they would be the biggest polluters in the world per capita, no doubt. Yet there overall contribution to pollution would be miniscule. Whereas if you had a country with 10 billion people, then even if you had 500 coal fired power plants , their per capita pollution would be low, but their overall level of pollution would be enormous.

By: robyn aylward

robyn aylward — Sat, 09 Jul 2011 22:21:56 +0000

Sorry, I might be thick or something but the pollution graph
per capita, I see it as, if Australia say had a population of 100 million in fact then we would be one of the smallest polluters. In fact Australia has one of the worlds smallest populations and one of the greatest space per person. How can we be the biggest Polluter in real terms? Can someone put me straight.

By: En Sabah Nur

En Sabah Nur — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 05:48:01 +0000

@Richard Dawkins

You’re right, but also China is “hiding”; but anyway, it is naughty.

By: Mr notsocialist

Mr notsocialist — Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:26:49 +0000

It makes a lot of sense, the world’s most populous countries are the worst polluters.

Population explosion should be addresses also- maybe because this is perhaps one of the major root causes..

By: alex

alex — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 22:53:03 +0000

Great chart—Americas Quarterly just released something in the same vein that ranks the world’s nations by their environmental policies. You can download it here: http://www.americasquarterly.org/node/1036

By: walkerjian

walkerjian — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 12:55:25 +0000

Stupid way to do it. Per Capita means nothing – you could reduce OZ per capita consumption to zero and it would not make the slightest difference to the CO2 (and others?) in the air.
Per Capita is just a red herring cast out by the major polluters to offset ‘blame’ from themselves. Want to do something about ‘global warming’? Don’t barf on about per capita and reduce the actual amount of CO2 belched into the air. Perhaps the best thing OZ could do is stop exporting coal. That would fix things a bit, wouldn’t it?

By: Mandala Reopens

Mandala Reopens — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 10:25:08 +0000

Stop (reduce) meat consumption … Livestock farming contributes more to global warming than other single factor.