The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1898-01-20
THE AIR GIVING OUT.
A Calamity Predicted by Lord Kelvin,
the Greatest Living Physicist

A Calamity Predicted by Lord Kelvin,
the Greatest Living Physicist
Washington Correspondence st. Louis
Globe-Democrat: The most move n
interesting problem at present on
fronting mankind is the threatened ex-
haustion of the oxygen in the earth's
atmosphere-a calamity which, II 1t
should only begin TO arrive would
bring about a speedy extinction of the
human race.
The suggestion of such a possibility
would be deemed ridiculous and I'M
worthy of attention, save for the fact
that it is offered by no less an author
ity than Lord Kelvin. the greatest liv-
ing physicist. But his arguments on
the subject are backed up by a number
of eminent scientific men. who call at
tention to the fact that the oxygen
of the air is now undergoing depletion
at a rate enormously beyond its re-
Punishment by growing plants. which
are practically the only oXy gen makers.
At the same time the plant life of the
world is being annihilated at an alarm
ing rate, incidentally to the spread of
human civilization. Every forest wiped
out is an oxygen factory destroyed.
1t has been imagined hitherto that
the supply of the DEMONSTRATING gas
in the atmosphere vas ineXhaustible.
1OIu. hElhll QECtdICS Tia l1Alo ~
is a mistake. He says that II Is being
used up at a rate which threatens an OK
ygen famine at no very distant date.
Furthermore, not contented with mere
assertion, he gives figures to prove
his proposition. He shows that the
weight of the entire atmosphere of the
earth is only $780, 600, 600, 000,0 900 tons.
one-fifth of this is oxygen, or $780,
600, 000, 600, 600 tons Thanks chiefly to
4ha fnonaanGA aa~nCVTnonrfnn nf enIt and
other fuel in the industries of civiliza-
ton. the available oxygen supply is
diminishing yearly, daily, and even
hOurly.
People speak with alarm at the dimi-
mutton of the cash surplus in the treas
ury. 1t may mean panic. But what
does that amount to in comparison with
the lessening of the surplus of oxygen?
A man who finds difficulty in breathing
cares little for the condition of the
money market. II behooves mankind to
balance its accounts with nature in re-
spect to the li%fe-giving gas. else there
will surely be lack of breath for fu-
ture generations.
1t is purely a matter of figures. Take
the consumption of oxygen by fire
combustion to begin with; it is the
alarming item. Every year the world
uses 600, coo, 900 tons of Goa. Eight
tons of oxygen are consumed in burn
ing every three tons of coal. This means
that 1900, COO, 900. tons of oxygen are de-
stroyed by coal fires annually. 1t is
hardly excessive TO add 500, GOO. goo more
tons of oxygen. as consumed by other
fires. chiefly wood. The total thus reck-
oned is $500, 900, aO0tons of oxygen sub
tracted from the atmosphere every year
for burning.
This. as has peer stated, is the seri-
Gus item in the account. Nature, in
her nge of affairs respecting
this planet. can scarcely be expected
to have provided for such an enormous
artificial exhaustion of the breathing
supply. Her provision was more than
ample for the use of the air by man
and other animals for the mere purpose
of breathing. This, too, would ave
held good up to the limit of possible
peopling of the globe by men and
beasts.
The human population of the world
is probably not far from 1.400. 900, 900.
An exact reckoning is out of the ques-
ton, chiefly because a proper census of
China has never been taken. and the
interior of Africa is only partly ex-
plored. Not long ago the government
of the United States attempted to make
an estimate on his subject, arriving at
an approximation of 800. 900, 900, but 1t
was TO some extent guesswork, and the
more conservative enumeration had
better be accepted. 1t Will do. at all
events, for present purposes.
A nan in breathing, destroys every
"a hours about IL pounds of oxygen.
This may seem small. but it must be
understood that only about one-fifth
of the oxygen taken into the lungs IS
consumed; the other four-hfths is ex-
hailed again, together with a propor-
ton of carbonic acid equal to about 4
- A.. --IaTa .-rranrf+U s. 2 rhfC
rate. the entire human population of
the tarth would use somewhat more
LOCO, 900 o Of oxygen per day, or,
to state it roughly, 400, 000, 900 tons in a
year.
The latest estimates made by the de-
partment of agriculture state the num-
Der of horses in the world at 100000
the mules and asses at 100000 the
cattle at 312, GOO, 900, the sheep at 511,-
900. 600. the swine at 103. 000. 900, and the
goats at 81 900, 600. This makes a total
of L.O36, 600, 900 farm animals. Generally
speaking, the consumption of oxygen
by animals is in direct proportion to
weight. Hence, a steer, in breath
ing, uses seven or eight times as much
of the precious gas as does a ia A
horse uses six times the quantity, per-
haps. But, for the sake of convenience
the multitudinous sheep and goats
being smaller than man-let it be as
sumed that the average farm animal
consumes only as much oxygen as a
man. This would give the total o n
sumption of the gas by them as about
275, 900, 900 tons per annum.
There is no possible way of reckoning
with the number of wild ami
mails of the bigness of the sheep and
more in the world. 1t can only be
guessed at. Put it at twice the num-
Der of the domestic animals; that does
not seem unreasonable. Well, then,
these untamed beasts of large sizes
be set down as consuming $40, 000,-
600 tons of oxygen per annum. Now,
add ten times hat quantity for all the
smaller animals. the birds and other
a~ir-breathing creatures-say, 5,400, Co.,
600 tons. This makes a grand total of
s 1915. 0O0,0 900 tons of oxygen used up an
nually by all the aiT-breathing animals
on the globe, including the human rae
The complete proposition is summed
in the following figures. which rep
rhn WCrid'S animal concentration |