50 years ago, Swedish meteorologist Bert Bolin alerted the world that the planet was warming and that it was doing so because of us. The Earth has suffered other episodes of global warming in the past, but they were caused by natural phenomena such as volcanic activity or changes in solar radiation. The Nordic scientist, who participated in 1950 in the first weather forecast made with a computer – only 24 hours ahead, but it was quite an achievement – was one of the first to point out that our activities emitted a series of gases into the atmosphere. –carbon dioxide, methane, ozone and nitrous oxide, fundamentally– that changed its composition and turned it into a kind of greenhouse that prevented excess heat from escaping.
Brolin pointed his finger at the human being, but he could have been more precise and accused the man directly. Because men contribute more to global warming. How can we know? Because of the carbon footprint, a way to measure what each of us pollute. According to a study published in 2021, swedes They leave a trail 16% higher than the Swedish ones. Other research has shown that the same occurs in other countries: in neighboring Norway, 6%, in Germany 8% and in Greece it shoots up to 39%. And our country? Spain is not an exception. According to an article published this past March, the difference is 11%.
More meat, alcohol and travel
Why does this difference exist? According to Pilar Osorio Morallón, María Ángeles Tobarra Gómez, both from the University of Castilla-La Mancha, and Manuel Tobías, from the Basque Center for Climate Change (BC3), the authors of this latest study, the main reason is the wage gap, 37% worldwide and 16% in Spain. In general, households with a majority of men – unlike the research mentioned in other countries, where only single-person households were taken into account, in the study in Spain all households were analyzed and differentiated by the proportion of men and women in them – have 17% higher incomes, which translates into 9% higher consumption.
It's not just the quantity, the way we men consume is also different. “Spanish men spend more on private transportation, restaurants and hotels, while women spend more on food and the home,” they say. Let's think about the day to day. Starting at the table, if a man is given the choice between a chop or a salad, the most likely response is the first. But what is good for our palate – not for our health – is not good for the planet. It is estimated that 58% of all food system emissions are related to animal products. We are also more likely to eat in restaurants, another addition to the carbon footprint. They eat more fruits and vegetables, and consume less alcohol.
The ideal profile: a 55-year-old woman
When it comes to going to work there are also differences: we take the car more and drive longer distances. Women, in general, use public transportation and active mobility more, that is, if they can walk or bike somewhere, they do so. And when they drive, they do so over shorter distances and in more efficient vehicles. Behind all this is that they have more knowledge about climate change and are more concerned about its consequences.
With this data in hand, the profile of the person who leads a more sustainable lifestyle is that of a 55-year-old woman, concluded another study published in February of last year. They are the ones who are usually in charge of separating waste at home, those who reuse products, those who save the most water and energy – not on heating, by staying at home longer – and those who most look for products with sustainable ingredients. Younger women only surpass these in sustainable mobility, buying second-hand and adopting a vegan diet.
Knowing what carbon footprint we leave is simple. On the Internet there are many web pages where we can calculate it. The UN He has his. It is enough to enter a series of data about our home – number of people living in it, size and energy efficiency –, eating habits – if we consume meat, for example –, how much we use the car and travel by plane or if we separate the different waste. . In a few steps it offers the result. According to this tool, the average carbon footprint per household in Spain is 10.07 tons of carbon dioxide per person, somewhat above the world average, which is 9.34. My home result is 10.64. “Honey, we have homework.” Surely more me than you.
#men #pollute #truth
