Carbon-Based Life

If one were to seek out life on other planets, most of us would place our bets on carbon-based evidence. It’s one of the most chemically fertile element on the periodic table, thanks to its four valence electrons.

It reacts strongly with other elements, but not so strong that these bonds are unbreakable. It lets life test things out and move on quickly; it’s the Eric Ries of elements.

So carbon is one life’s best allies, right? Yes and no.

A result of these life-enabling properties combined with human-induced processes (i.e., burning or combusting fossil fuels) is that carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, is produced along with a few other GHGs to a lesser extent, such as carbon monoxide and methane.

Who are the worst offenders?

The Guardian has a great article and data that discusses the carbon footprint of various countries and a few important trends to watch. I've summarized a few of their points below:

They claim that our world’s footprint has increased 48% since 1992, and our 2010 emissions totaled 31.8B tons from energy production. China currently holds the world record for largest emitter of carbon dioxide from energy at 8.1B tons. Sadly, they also claim that the US saw it’s first increase in emissions since the 2008 recession.

However, it’s not fair to compare countries based on their absolute emissions, since we must account for other variables, such as population. Here are a few interesting facts with a bit more context.

• Gibraltar has an astronomical 135 tons per capita

• United States is at 17.3 tons per capita (according to the World Bank)

• China tops out at 6.3 tons per capita

• Equatorial Guinea has experienced a 3990% increase since 1980.