ABC News Watch: Climate action: The missing 99.9957%

Monday, September 22, 2014

Climate action: The missing 99.9957%

ABC headline:
People's Climate March: Hundreds of thousands march in rallies calling for action on climate change
Organisers estimated that some 310,000 people, including United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, former US Vice President Al Gore, actor Leonardo DiCaprio and elected officials from the United States and abroad joined the People's Climate March, ahead of Tuesday's United Nations hosted summit in the city to discuss reducing carbon emissions that threaten the environment.

Re-analysis:

Current world population: 7.2 billion (figures rounded to nearest 100,000,000)

Number marching: 310,000

Percent:0.0043%

Number that found something better to do:7.2 billion (figures rounded to nearest 100,000,000)

Percent: 99.9957% (thanks Craig Mc!)

Perhaps the headline ABC should have run: 99.9957% of world's population didn't march for action on climate change.

2 comments:

Craig McSeptember 22, 2014 at 11:44 AM
Actually, that's 99.9956% who didn't march.

Assuming you'd believe the 310,000 number in the first place, which is probably inflated by an order of magnitude.
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