Plastic surgery has long posed serious risks for many of its vain victims: death from infection, bursting boobs, migrating silicone and the like. But who knew it was also bad for the environment? The Washington City Paper reports that disposing of all the fat sucked out of people during liposuction and tummy tucks puts 1,000 tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year, largely because the fat (which is 78 percent carbon) is incinerated.
Since belly fat as biodiesel is a tough sell, a local upscale plastic surgery practice is now buying carbon offsets to cover disposing of its nips and tucks. The surgeons tell CP that while jogging would be a healthier alternative for shedding all that fat, it wouldn’t make much difference on the environment because the exercise would still “liberate” carbon into the atmosphere. I find this claim somewhat dubious (especially given the self-interest of the source), but since I’m too science challenged to work this out on my own, I’ll put this to you, dear readers: Are joggers really the human versions of farting cows, huffing out more carbon that fat incinerators?
