We don't have good estimates for the global amount, and it would also need to be set against the balance of CO2 and methane that would be produced by other decomposition processes. In our lower atmosphere this methane then reacts to form carbon dioxide and ozone.” Termites produce more CO2 each year than all living things combined A meme shared hundreds of times in multiple posts on Facebook and Twitter claims that termites produce 10 times more carbon dioxide than humans in a single year. Screenshot of the misleading Facebook post, Screenshot of the Global Carbon Project report. Professor Stefan Arndt, from the University of Melbourne’s School of Ecosystem and Forest Sciences, told AFP the misleading claim was in fact “the other way around”. Pound for pound, the weight of all the termites in the world is greater than the total weight of humans. The claim is false; scientists estimate termites produce approximately one-tenth of the carbon emissions produced by humans in a single year. Cut down trees and they gradually rot, giving off carbon dioxide - the most important of the man- made, heat-trapping 'greenhouse gases'. Can everyone with my passport data see my American arrival/departure record (form I-94)? ... they concluded that termites could produce as much as 150 million tonnes of methane a year. of course it is! site design / logo © 2020 Stack Exchange Inc; user contributions licensed under cc by-sa. Field measurements of methane emissions from two termite nests in … Stack Exchange network consists of 176 Q&A communities including Stack Overflow, the largest, most trusted online community for developers to learn, share their knowledge, and build their careers. the termite overshoot has happened, now termites move to invade new digs. On October 21 2019 Australian Federal MP Malcolm Roberts posted an image to his Facebook feed claiming termites produce 10 times more CO2 than humans in a year. It only takes a minute to sign up. Below is a screenshot of the table of these emissions estimates, which appears on page 425 of the study: The Global Carbon Project, a US-based environmental research organisation, stated in this 2018 report there were 36.2 Gigatonnes of CO2 emissions from fossil fuels and industry in 2017. Termites produce a mixture of methane and CO2. More termites, more termite wars. Is there more forest in the Northern Hemisphere now than 100 years ago? The CO2 that nature emits (from the ocean and vegetation) is balanced by natural absorptions (again by the ocean and vegetation). Your analogy with money is deeply flawed. And thats before we get on to M1 vs M2 vs M3. I trust a good answer will consider CO2e and not just dismiss the claim on the grounds that termites emit CH4 rather than CO2. “This would only change if we [were to] get more and more termites, then their CO2 emissions could rise, as plants may not be able to keep up with the sequestration. Do other planets and moons share Earth’s mineral diversity? “Termites only emit a tenth of the overall emissions humans create every year, in terms of anthropogenic fossil fuel emissions,” Arndt said via email on October 29, 2019. In fact, human emit 26 gigatonnes of CO2 per year while CO2 in the atmosphere is rising by only 15 gigatonnes per year - much of human CO2 emissions … Is paying your bill online more environmentally friendly than post? I don't know how much humans produce, and if we include human caused emissions such as fires. Over the lifespan of a tree this is a carbon neutral process, and is accordingly treated as a net zero in global CO2 accounting. “ Since termites produce ten times more CO2 than humans” This is a persistent myth doing the rounds (Recently repeated by Robert Malcolm, a far-right politician who campaigns on anti-science platforms in australia) and its blatantly untrue. But the present global warming is (mostly) the result of man made CO2 from burning fossil fuels. How do we get to know the total mass of an atmosphere? Human activities. @Accumulation: Look at it this way: How much CO2 do termites add to the biosphere. For global climate purposes the various greenhouse gasses are counted as the equivalent mass of CO2, but for termite emissions the amounts vary greatly between wet and dry seasons. Global annual emissions calculated from laboratory measurements could reach 1.5 x 1014 grams of methane and 5 x 1016 grams of carbon dioxide. Burn them, and they give off carbon dioxide much more rapidly. The subject matter depicted or included via links within the Fact Checking content is provided to the extent necessary for correct understanding of the verification of the information concerned. The CO2 added by humans is / was not for many millions of years. Do termites produce 10 times more CO2 than humans? AFP and its logo are registered trademarks. “In fact, CO2 emissions have risen per decade by about 3.1 Giga tonne of CO2, pretty much what the CO2 emissions from termites are per year. Termites are not burning fossil fuels. "Over the lifespan of a tree this is a carbon neutral process" Only if by "this", you mean "Termites eating wood. Copyright AFP 2017-2020. As much as 2 x 1014 grams of molecular hydrogen may also be produced.
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