Previous studies suggested a small number of big rivers accounted for most of ocean plastics.
But higher-resolution data suggests many more small rivers play a big role.
To cover 80% of plastic inputs you need to tackle > 1,000 rivers.
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Factors that matter a lot for a river's plastic inputs:
– waste management practices
– distance to coast
– cities nearby
– precipitation rates
– slope of terrain
Here are the top 10 rivers 👇
(most are small rivers in the Philippines)
"China uses more cement in 3 years than the US did in the entire 20th century".
I see this claim a lot & was curious if it stacked up against data on CO₂ emissions from cement.
So, some more back-of-the-envelope fact-checking below ↓↓
Spoiler: yes, seems to stack up
I'm using annual data on CO₂ from cement prod from @gcarbonproject & CDIAC. You can explore, compare countries, download from our CO₂ data explorer here: rb.gy/szuwvo
My calcs:
CO₂ from cement in USA for entire 20th century = 1838 million tonnes
Annual CO₂ from cement in China (2018) = 781 million tonnes
China emits same in 2.4 years as US in 20th century.