| In a stroke of sheer brilliance, The
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| | CO2.
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| journal of unlikely science, weirdscience
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| | When we undertake strenuous exercise our
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| Null Hypothesis has cracked the climate
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| | metabolic rate tends toincrease by at
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| change problem.
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| | least 50%. So during a 30-minute bout, we
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| Less than a month into Richard Branson's
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| | could beexpelling an extra 8.3g of carbon
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| five-year competition, Null
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| | dioxide.
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| Hypothesis will take its winning idea to
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| | Perhaps that doesn't seem like much, but
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| Virgin Earth and walk awaywith a cool $25
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| | by our calculations, if weexercised as we
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| million.
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| | were supposed to - about 30 minutes, five
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| The solution to Branson's problem (not to
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| | times a week
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| mention our, global, problem)is closer to
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| | - this would add up to another 1.3kg a
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| hand than we could ever have imagined. It
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| | year. Across the worldpopulation, that's
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| is, quitesimply, stop breathing; or at
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| | a lung-busting 14 million tonnes of extra
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| least breathe less.
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| | CO2 everyyear.
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| The average person takes 24,000 breaths a
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| | And just to make matters worse, your body
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| day, breathing inapproximately 6g of
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| | continues to metabolise at ahigher rate
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| carbon dioxide, but breathing out around
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| | long after you cease exercising, pumping
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| 800gduring the same time. Over a year,
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| | out increasedlevels of carbon dioxide for
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| you personally will add a net 290kgof CO2
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| | anything up to 36 hours.
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| to the atmosphere, just by exhaling.
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| | Doctors Impey and Steer prepare to win
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| Multiply that by a globalpopulation of
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| | the big prize in the Virgin
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| 6.5 billion and it adds up to a criminal
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| | Earth Challenge.
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| 1.88 gigatonnes.
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| | Doctors Impey and Steer get into training
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| If we each merely cut out one breath in
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| | to receive their big winnings
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| three, we could decrease theamount of CO2
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| | So the key to reversing climate change
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| entering the atmosphere each year by a
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| | and saving the planet is simple:do
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| staggering 0.63gigatonnes. That's 0.63
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| | nothing. Absolutely nothing. In an ideal
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| billion tonnes - the same effect as
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| | world, we'd all just sitaround keeping
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| saving 5million acres of land (an area
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| | our breathing rates as low as possible,
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| the size of Wales) from deforestation,or
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| | skipping the oddbreath here and there
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| recycling 192 million tonnes of waste
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| | just to help matters along. That way we'd
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| instead of trashing it.
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| | all beminimizing our carbon output.
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| But we don't want to stop there. Let's
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| | And there's an extra benefit to the
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| get really ruthless.
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| | global atmosphere.
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| Perhaps the most carbon efficient
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| | As our enforced lethargy leads us to pile
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| solution would be to eliminate
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| | on the pounds, we'll act ascarbon sinks -
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| thosemembers of the population taking the
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| | tying up potentially dangerous
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| most breaths and thereforeexpelling the
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| | atmospheric carbon (viaplants and
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| most carbon dioxide.
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| | hopefully an animal or two) as
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| Intuitively, you might expect these to be
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| | ever-so-becoming fat deposits.
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| the sorts of idle layaboutswho wouldn't
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| | But, before you revel in the excuse to
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| know what a treadmill was if it hit them
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| | leave your trainers to gatherdust, the
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| in the face. Withtheir high resting heart
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| | amount of carbon dioxide you would save
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| rates and shallow, wheezing breaths, they
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| | by not exercising isnothing compared to
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| mustbe the least environmentally sound.
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| | what you'd save by running somewhere
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| But that's not the case. Being as there
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| | instead ofdriving.
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| is no obvious differencebetween the
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| | And one final thought: even if CO2 levels
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| metabolic rates of the honed and toned,
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| | were to be stabilisedquickly, global
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| and the squashy andsluggish, we all burn
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| | temperatures would continue to soar for
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| about the same amount of carbon whilst
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| | years to come.
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| resting.
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| | So, even though we've helped solve
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| However, all that time that the
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| | Branson's challenge, in terms ofseeing an
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| super-fitties among us spendexercising,
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| | effect on rising global temperatures -
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| they're guzzling extra oxygen and
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| | don't hold your breath.
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| belching out tonnes of
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