What an idiot. Was this guy ever an engineer or systems analyst? Does he have any mathematical training? I mean really, how did he ever succeed in a technical field like software?
His simplistic equation (and that is being very kind) assumes that all people use the same mix of services, that all services use the same kinds and amounts of energy per use, that all energy production results in the same CO2 levels per energy unit, that there are no economies of scale, that there are no changes in services, energy production, etc. In other words, this equation is uselessly simple. Then again, it may work for un-educated liberals.
Furthermore, the entire premise of his statement is based on fallacy. Even if you take P to zero it will have, for all intents, no effect on CO2. Humans contribute less than 3% of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere each year. Less than 3%. In engineering circles, referring to big complicated systems (like the atmosphere) we'd call that insignificant. Here's a small scale example of that. Go down to your community swimming pool on a hot day when there's dozens of kids splashing around in it. From the curb observe the pool's water level. Now, tell me, is it at 97% of nominal capacity, 103%? Somewhere in-between? And that is giving you a 6% range to estimate in, not just 3%... Oh, and if human activity did drop to zero, don't you think maybe animal populations and activity might increase in our place? Guess what, they'd produce CO2. So the net result would probably be even less than a 3% change.
Gates, you're a fool and your software s**ks. I had to, had to use Windows, Outlook, and msn the other day. Guess what, your own help pages on microsoft.com are wrong, and the combination of your OS, your application, and your service...does not work the way your help pages say it should. You wanted to charge me $35 for help. 15 min of poking around on the Internet (after wasting nearly an hour with ms products and services) finally showed me that it can't be done. Good job. No wonder Apple and Ubuntu are eating your lunch.
“What an idiot. Was this guy ever an engineer or systems analyst? Does he have any mathematical training? I mean really, how did he ever succeed in a technical field like software? “
He’s speaking to the level of people he is trying to sell the idea too. They are none of those things.