The WSJ's Numbers Guy busts out the abacus and busts some bogus numbers.
Could using a new kind of cooling system in a single office building really reduce carbon-dioxide emissions by the same amount as planting 1.9 million acres of trees?
That was the claim in a recent Associated Press article about ice-cooling systems, which use blocks of ice frozen at night and allowed to melt during the day, cooling the air as they do so. “A system in Credit Suisse’s offices at the historic Metropolitan Life tower in Manhattan is equal to taking 223 cars off the streets or planting 1.9 million acres of trees to absorb carbon dioxide from electrical use for a year, according to the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority,” the AP reported, in an article picked up by CNN.com and others. The Daily Telegraph of London also reported the number. (Numbers Guy reader Jason D’Amico doubted the claim about the trees — which would equal a forest bigger than Delaware — and suggested I look into it.)
In response to my inquiry, the New York State agency that had reported the number in a January 2006 press release checked its figures and found the acreage estimate was way off — by a factor of nearly... More
He then goes on to brag about this post:
"Saving the Planet, One Square of Toilet Paper at a Time"
Finally here are the results of recent Treasury Inflation Protected Securities auctions.
