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1

So to say "fossil fuels killed more than COVID-19 in 2020" would be too specific -- but what about "fossil fuels kill more in an average year than COVID-19 killed in 2020"?
– LShaver
Commented Mar 22, 2022 at 14:12
17

@LShaver The problem is in making a claim that we know how many people COVID-19 killed, and how many people Fossil Fuels killed. We don't have good enough data to make precise point estimates of either. We just know both numbers are big - way bigger than we want them to be. There's strong evidence that we grossly underestimate both figures. If I was being graded on accuracy of language, rather than rhetorical impact I would say they are, at the least, reasonably comparable to one another in that they are both very deadly.... but one is a thing we choose to do to ourselves continuously.
– William Walker III
Commented Mar 22, 2022 at 14:25
1

@reirab Gasoline/Petrol in particular are fairly clean-burning fuels insofar as PM2.5 is concerned. PM2.5 mostly comes from coal. So yes, Transportation is more GHG, but nowhere near as much PM.
– William Walker III
Commented Mar 23, 2022 at 20:13
1

@reirab the author is using "engine" in the broad sense of a "machine designed to convert one or more forms of energy into mechanical energy", which also applies to power plants which first use an engine to create mechanical (rotational) energy, which is then used to generate electricity.
– LShaver
Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 0:41
1

I'm accepting this answer because it directly addresses the source of the 9 million figure, and explains why the comparison itself (irrespective of the numbers) is questionable.
– LShaver
Commented Mar 24, 2022 at 15:05

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