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Ever wonder exactly how big New York City’s carbon footprin ^[5]t is? The Carbon Quilt ^[6], a company that specializes in visualizing greenhouse gas emissions, is answering that question with a video showing giant balls of gas taking over our streets. The film reflects data collected from 2010, when New York added 54 million metric tons ^[7] of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Surprisingly, amidst all of the beeping cars and stinky subways, 75% of the emissions came from buildings. While the visualization shows millions of beautiful teal balls dancing throughout the city, it’s definitely not a pretty picture.

The video explains that the city added an alarming 2 tons of carbon dioxide ^[9] to the atmosphere every second in 2010. The striking images show an hour’s worth of emissions with a giant stack of spheres taking over 5th Avenue. A day’s worth of emissions almost entirely engulfs the Empire State Building ^[10] and surrounding areas, while a year’s worth shows a climbing pile of gas bubbles that covers all of Manhattan and soars into the clouds. New York’s green goals may not always be obvious to the naked eye, but the good news is that the city is working toward a cleaner, greener atmosphere for the future.

+ The Carbon Quilt ^[6]

via the guardian ^[7]