How Much Is A Ton Of Carbon Dioxide?

Written By Teacher: Elizabeth Ward

My name is Elizabeth Ward. I am a former Early Childhood, Elementary, and English as a Foreign Language educator. I have taught third grade Science and Social Studies as well as Kindergarten in both urban and rural Oklahoma public schools. I taught online EFL to students of all ages in China for four years. I also have experience in curriculum development and content design for teachers in the physical and digital classroom. As a former teacher I have a passion for supporting teachers and making their jobs easier. I currently live in the greater Houston area with my husband and four dogs. 

Understanding the scale of carbon dioxide emissions is crucial for grasping the scope of climate change and the urgency of reducing greenhouse gases. By exploring how much carbon dioxide is produced by various human activities, students can better understand the impact of daily choices on the environment and how these add up globally. This topic provides an opportunity to discuss the relationship between consumption, emissions, and sustainability, encouraging students to think critically about solutions to mitigate climate change. Dig into the data of carbon emissions with CFR Education’s: Who Releases the Most Greenhouse Gasses? Engage your 3rd-5th graders with this math activity about trees and greenhouse gas emissions. 

Written By: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative

The MIT Climate Change Engagement Program, a part of MIT Climate HQ, provides the public with nonpartisan, easy-to-understand, and scientifically-grounded information on climate change and its solutions.

Imagine a cube 27 feet tall, wide, and long. But just in case that’s a little hard to picture, imagine a cube almost as tall, wide, and long as a telephone pole. That’s how much space it would take to hold a metric ton of CO2. (We’re going to talk in metric tons here, because that’s how scientists measure CO2. A metric ton is 2,204.6 lbs, and is a little bigger than the American ton’s 2,000 lbs and a little smaller than the British ton’s 2,240 lbs —but the three are fairly comparable.)

And remember, this is literally a ton. While it may not seem like a gas can weigh that much, this 27’ x 27’ x 27’ cube has the same weight as a great white shark or, well, a ton of bricks (400 bricks!)The average American produces enough CO2 each year to fill 15 of these enormous cubes. This many cubes can fill over three Olympic-sized swimming pools. The Earth is able to reabsorb a lot of that CO2 through trees, oceans, and other natural processes. But much of it will stay in the atmosphere, potentially for hundreds of years.

That’s a lot of cubes. So how are we making all of this CO2?