I totally agree with this, but I pause at phrases like
Every ton of carbon dioxide pollution causes around $20 of damage to economies, ecosystems and human health. That sum times 20 implies $400 worth of damage per American per year.
Remember those posters in your middle school that said ‘every cigarette you smoke takes 13 minutes off your life’? As important as it is to quantify the impact we as consumers have on the earth, this is a number designed to mobilize, not to inform.
The environmental movement has enough enemies already. The argument they’re making is just as strong without adding statisticians to the list.