DRESS UP YOUR NUMBERS 111
dots. For example, try telling someone that in 2006 alone, the
United States produced thirteen trillion pounds of carbon diox-
ide (CO 2 ). It sounds like a humongous number, but what does
it mean? There is no context. Thirteen trillion could be small
or large in comparison with other countries. And frankly, what
would it mean to the average person? The number itself won’t
persuade people to change their habits.
A l Gore’s website, ClimateCrisis.org, breaks the number dow n
further, claiming the average American is responsible for 44,000
pounds of CO 2 emissions per year, while the world average is
9,600 pounds per individual.^8 That’s specific and contextual.
The site then makes the number even more relevant by tell-
ing its readers what might happen if that number doesn’t come
down: heat waves will be more frequent and intense, droughts
and wildfires will occur more often, and more than a million
species could be driven to extinction in the next fifty years.
Scientists at NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration) are also catching on. Senior scientist Susan
Solomon once told the New York Times that if the burning of fos-
sil fuels continues at its present rate, carbon dioxide emissions
could reach 450 parts per million. What does that figure mean?
According to Solomon, at 450 parts per million, rising seas will
threaten coastal areas around the world, and western Australia
could expect 10 percent less rainfall. “Ten percent may not seem
like a high number,” said Solomon, “but it is the kind of number
that has been seen in major droughts in the past, like the Dust
Bowl.”^9
Whether or not you believe in global warming, climate
change experts such as Al Gore and Susan Solomon are mas-
ters at making large numbers meaningful, and by doing so,
they hope to persuade governments and individuals to take the
action they deem necessary to solve the problem.
CHANGE YOUR DIET OR PAY THE ULTIMATE PRICE
What if you knew nothing about blood pressure and a doctor
told you your blood pressure was 220 over 140? Would you be
motivated to change your diet and exercise habits? Perhaps not
until those numbers are put into context that makes sense to