January 30, 2012 | News | In the Press
"Don´t be middle-aged"
The publication of MPIDR-researcher Emilio Zagheni about the CO2 emission of people in different classes of ages has been widely perceived in the international media. "Don´t be middle-aged" resumes for example the renowned business newspaper "The Economist".
"Aging is healthy. At least for our planet, at least in a few years", writes the Berlin-based newspaper "Tagesspiegel". And the newspaper "der Freitag" calls those beyond the age of 65 - who according to Emilio Zagheni's calculations have a better eco-balance, i.e. produce much less CO2 - "eco-friendly retirees".
The eco-internet-portal "Treehugger" had a closer look at the data and says quite rightly so, not to be over-optimistic as it will take at least 30 years until the changes in the age structure has a positive impact on the climate. And it will only be in 2022 that the very last cohorts of the big baby-boomers will be past the age of 65. Until then, they will blow a lot of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Emilio Zagheni has published his calculations in the scientific journal "Demography". The data has been re-published - in a slightly different form - in the Newsletter "Demografische Forschung aus erster Hand".
You can find an overview of all articles published in the media on this scientific paper in the press coverage.
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