1 00:00:02,040 --> 00:00:06,720 Speaker 1: Welcome to brain stuff from how stuff works. Hey there, 2 00:00:06,720 --> 00:00:09,559 Speaker 1: brain stuff, Lauren Vogel bomb here. If you're out there 3 00:00:09,600 --> 00:00:13,080 Speaker 1: saving humanity from supervillains, doesn't matter how many pounds of 4 00:00:13,119 --> 00:00:15,600 Speaker 1: carbon you used to do it. Gotham City would have 5 00:00:15,600 --> 00:00:18,960 Speaker 1: been obliterated a hundred times over if Batman weren't constantly 6 00:00:18,960 --> 00:00:22,119 Speaker 1: bailing it out of trouble. But that batmobile sure is 7 00:00:22,120 --> 00:00:25,040 Speaker 1: a gas guzzler, not to mention the Batwing airplane, and 8 00:00:25,079 --> 00:00:27,960 Speaker 1: the electricity bill for the bat Cave is probably astronomical. 9 00:00:28,400 --> 00:00:31,880 Speaker 1: So is all that do gooding really doing good? After all? 10 00:00:32,800 --> 00:00:35,960 Speaker 1: Some researchers from Stanford University presented a poster at the 11 00:00:35,960 --> 00:00:41,360 Speaker 1: American Geophysical Unions Fall meeting entitled Stop Saving the Planet 12 00:00:41,680 --> 00:00:45,120 Speaker 1: Carbon Accounting of Superheroes and their Impacts on Climate change. 13 00:00:45,760 --> 00:00:47,839 Speaker 1: The point of the project was to bring awareness to 14 00:00:47,840 --> 00:00:50,960 Speaker 1: the fact that everybody on this planet has a carbon footprint, 15 00:00:51,159 --> 00:00:53,240 Speaker 1: which is a calculation of how much carbon each of 16 00:00:53,320 --> 00:00:56,080 Speaker 1: us uses in our daily activities, such as driving, eating, 17 00:00:56,120 --> 00:00:59,520 Speaker 1: and heating and cooling our houses. The average Americans carbon 18 00:00:59,560 --> 00:01:03,480 Speaker 1: footprint is around forty four thousand pounds. That's abouts of 19 00:01:03,520 --> 00:01:06,800 Speaker 1: carbon per year. An average person in the United Arab 20 00:01:06,800 --> 00:01:09,520 Speaker 1: Emirates uses a good bit more, and the average Peruvian 21 00:01:09,640 --> 00:01:13,760 Speaker 1: uses considerably less. But what about your average superhero, Well, 22 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,319 Speaker 1: according to the study, they're all over the map. Take Superman. 23 00:01:17,640 --> 00:01:20,080 Speaker 1: According to the comics, the Man of Steel is entirely 24 00:01:20,120 --> 00:01:23,319 Speaker 1: solar powered, which nets him a carbon footprint of zero. 25 00:01:23,840 --> 00:01:27,320 Speaker 1: Bless him. Jessica Jones probably comes in slightly below the 26 00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:30,520 Speaker 1: average Americans carbon use thanks to her small Brooklyn apartment 27 00:01:30,560 --> 00:01:34,000 Speaker 1: and reliance on public transportation and swamp thing, what with 28 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,520 Speaker 1: his power to make plants grow, might actually have a 29 00:01:36,560 --> 00:01:39,800 Speaker 1: negative carbon footprint. That's not the case for every good 30 00:01:39,800 --> 00:01:43,479 Speaker 1: Samaritan in a cape, however. The Oracle firstwhile bat girl 31 00:01:43,560 --> 00:01:46,959 Speaker 1: turned computer hacker might weigh in at a conservative estimate 32 00:01:46,959 --> 00:01:50,480 Speaker 1: of one and fifty one thousand pounds or sixty eight kilograms, 33 00:01:50,800 --> 00:01:53,200 Speaker 1: but the figure might be as high as thirty two 34 00:01:53,240 --> 00:01:56,120 Speaker 1: million pounds or a hundred and forty five million kilograms, 35 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:00,680 Speaker 1: depending on how many servers she's running. An iron Man 36 00:02:00,760 --> 00:02:03,920 Speaker 1: who makes a concerted effort to employ green energy sources 37 00:02:04,080 --> 00:02:06,800 Speaker 1: would come in higher than the average American because of 38 00:02:06,800 --> 00:02:09,520 Speaker 1: the sheer amount of tech that he uses, and the 39 00:02:09,520 --> 00:02:12,160 Speaker 1: flash who can run near the speed of light, might 40 00:02:12,200 --> 00:02:15,760 Speaker 1: require an insane number of calories to accomplish this feat, 41 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:19,400 Speaker 1: possibly as much as eighty nine million pounds or forty 42 00:02:19,440 --> 00:02:24,080 Speaker 1: five million kims worth of carbon. But isn't this kind 43 00:02:24,080 --> 00:02:27,000 Speaker 1: of a silly question for serious scientists to spend their 44 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:31,360 Speaker 1: time exploring? Poster co author Miles Treyer, a post doctorial 45 00:02:31,400 --> 00:02:34,840 Speaker 1: researcher at Stanford, told EOS, if I calculate my own 46 00:02:34,880 --> 00:02:38,799 Speaker 1: carbon footprint, that's depressing. If I calculate Batman's carbon footprint, 47 00:02:38,840 --> 00:02:41,760 Speaker 1: that's hilarious. So let's go with the hilarious. It's a 48 00:02:41,760 --> 00:02:45,240 Speaker 1: way of tricking people into learning. Next, Trayer is setting 49 00:02:45,280 --> 00:02:48,080 Speaker 1: his sights on the carbon footprint of supervillains. One of 50 00:02:48,080 --> 00:02:51,680 Speaker 1: my favorites, he said, is Mr Freeze, because refrigeration carries 51 00:02:51,680 --> 00:02:59,960 Speaker 1: a pretty horrendous carbon footprint. Today's episode was written by 52 00:03:00,040 --> 00:03:03,080 Speaker 1: Usling Shields and produced by Tristan McNeil. For more on 53 00:03:03,120 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: this and lots of other environmental topics, visit our home planet, 54 00:03:06,480 --> 00:03:19,560 Speaker 1: how stuff Works dot com.