The wealthiest 1% globally generate as many carbon emissions as the poorest 66%.
Obviously that’s problematic for the rest of us, so how can we stop the wealthiest 1% in the world disproportionately adding to global warming? Well, here’s a little bit of blue sky thinking for you – we cremate them! All 77,420,000 of them.
I know what you’re thinking. Cremating all of them would generate 20,122,077.36 tonnes of CO2. We’re meant to be reducing emissions, not increasing them.
Well, yes, you’re right, but that would be the last emissions they ever generate. In less than 15 days, by about six o’clock in the afternoon of day 14, in fact, the planet would start to see emissions reduced by some 1,364,383.56 tonnes of CO2 per year.
Of course, it wouldn’t make any real difference, though. They’d just be replaced by the next 1% who’d soon be happily polluting the planet every bit as much.
That’s the surprisingly obvious problem with revolution, we always end up back where we started.
Wealth brings many great benefits to those that enjoy it. Perhaps the greatest and most tragic privilege of wealth is the ability to generate waste on an out-sized scale.
Like the TV friendly family showing off their overflowing Thanksgiving table, when we know they’ll only manage a couple of foul tasting green smoothies between them to maintain their Insta-perfect bodies.
Or the hyper-privileged singer writing about their difficulties in love on one of their private jets, while ignoring the difficulties of normal people struggling in an ever less hospitable world.
We truly live in a golden age. Our wealthy are so great they can literally waste an entire planet on our behalf. And on behalf of future generations who will have to suffer the effects of their greatness.
Obviously we can’t burn the wealthy, but what will stop them wasting an entire planet?
What you just read? ☝ Shouldn't more people read it?
Share it now, before you forget
