According to a proposed bill in the Minnesota Senate. You might need an allowance by the EPA to breathe or you may be fined. I know its sounds crazy, but its true.
S.F. No. 192, as introduced - 85th Legislative Session (2007-2008)
Which States: “Allowance” means an authorization from a state regulatory agency to emit up to one ton of carbon dioxide equivalent during a specified year.
Well, just by breathing everyone of us Minnesotans or “greenhouse emissions sources” exhale almost a ton of CO2 gas in a year.
Let's do the math shall we?
Humans typically breathe between 12 and 20 times per minute, with children breathing faster than adults. Babies may breathe as much as 40 times per minute. Adults normally breathe about 500-700ml of air at a time. An average 14 year old takes around 30,000 breaths per day.
The air we breathe in contains 0.03% CO2, the air we exhale is 5% CO2.
600ml x 30,000 = 18000000ml x .047% = 846000ml of CO2 daily which weighs approx. 3.87lbs x 365 = 1,412.55 lbs annually.
In my case, I'm married with 4 kids, 2 horses, 2 large dogs, 12 chickens and a cat. We're churning out literally tons of CO2 every year, so am I going to have to pay a penalty?