The Carbon Footprint of a Single Dragon Ball Z Fight

Summary

• A single Dragon Ball Z fight’s energy output could produce emissions comparable to an entire country.
• The carbon footprint includes energy blasts, forest fires, destroyed cities, and vaporized oceans.
• A Dragon Ball Z battle’s CO₂ emissions exceed major events like the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.

The scale of destruction in Dragon Ball Z has captivated audiences for decades, with characters capable of obliterating mountains and leveling cities in seconds. However, when these intense battles are analyzed through a real-world environmental lens, their hypothetical carbon footprint becomes staggeringly clear.

The immense energy output, collateral damage, and environmental repercussions of a single Dragon Ball Z fight could produce emissions comparable to those of an entire country. However, it’s relatively difficult to put that into context, especially when the closest thing the fans have to a potential metric is the planet being blown up into absolute bits and pieces.

Energy Output of a DBZ Fight

Estimating Energy Per Blast

The energy blasts frequently seen in Dragon Ball Z—such as Goku’s Kamehameha—display an unprecedented level of destructive power. To estimate their environmental impact, the energy required to destroy a mountain serves as a baseline.

For reference, the 1980 Mount St. Helens eruption released approximately 4 × 10¹⁵ joules of energy. Considering that a single Kamehameha can cause exponentially greater devastation, a conservative estimate places its energy output at roughly 10 times that figure:

Energy of a Kamehameha = 10 x 4 x (10^15) = 4 x 10^16 joules

If fighters like Goku and Vegeta launch 10 energy blasts each during a battle, the total energy output becomes:

Total Energy for Blasts = 2 x 10 x 4 x (10^16) = 8 x 10^17 joules

To contextualize this figure, producing this amount of energy through the burning of fossil fuels provides an approximate measure of its carbon footprint.

Converting Energy to Carbon Emissions

Where the Numbers Lose Logic

When fossil fuels are used to generate energy, significant amounts of CO₂ are released. Coal, for example, produces 24 megajoules (MJ) of energy per kilogram burned, while emitting approximately 2.4 kilograms of CO₂ per kilogram of coal.

1. Energy per kilogram of coal in joules:

   1MJ = 106J => 1 kg of coal = 24 x (10^6)J.

2. Coal required for 8 x 1017 joules of energy:

   Coal (kg) = [8 x (10^17)J] / [24 x (10^6)J/kg] = 3.33 x (10^10) kg

3. Total CO₂ emissions:

   CO2 = 3.33 x (10^10) kg x 2.4 kg CO2/kg coal = 7.99 x (10^10) kg CO2

This results in approximately 80 million metric tons of CO₂ emissions solely from the energy output of energy blasts.

Collateral Damage and Environmental Impact

Comparisons With Different Events

Forest Fires

The collateral damage from a single Dragon Ball Z battle often includes the destruction of vast landscapes, including forests. Suppose a fight ignites 1,000 km² of forest. Based on NASA wildfire data, forest fires emit approximately 100,000 metric tons of CO₂ per km² burned:

Forest CO2 = 1,000km2 x 100,000 tons/km2 = 100 million tons CO2

Destroyed Cities

In addition to natural landscapes, cities frequently become casualties of these battles. Urban destruction releases significant carbon emissions from debris, building materials, and reconstruction.

Estimates from studies on major earthquakes place the emissions from rebuilding a city at approximately 200 million metric tons of CO₂.

Vaporized Oceans

If a battle were to vaporize 1 km³ of ocean water, the energy required would be immense. Vaporizing water requires 2.26 megajoules per kilogram, and 1 km³ of water has a mass of 1 × 10¹² kilograms:

Energy = 1 x (10^12) kg x 2.26 x (10^6) J/kg = 2.26 x (10^18) J

Converting this energy to CO₂ emissions using the same fossil fuel model results in:

CO2 emissions = [2.26 x (10^18) x 2.4] / [24 x (10^6)] = 2.26 x (10^11) kg CO2

This equals approximately 226 million metric tons of CO₂.

Adding these emissions together provides a clearer picture of the total environmental impact:

1. Energy Blasts: 80 million metric tons CO₂
2. Forest Fires: 100 million metric tons CO₂
3. Destroyed Cities: 200 million metric tons CO₂
4. Vaporized Oceans: 226 million metric tons CO₂

Total:

606 million metric tons of CO2

Contextualizing the Emissions

The carbon footprint of a single Dragon Ball Z fight is extraordinary. For comparison:

• 606 million metric tons of CO₂ is equivalent to the annual emissions of Germany, one of the world’s largest economies.
• It surpasses the emissions of 125 million cars driven for an entire year.
• The infamous Deepwater Horizon oil spill released approximately 50 million metric tons of CO₂—just 8% of the emissions from a single Dragon Ball Z battle.

While Dragon Ball Z battles exist in a fictional universe, their hypothetical environmental impact is far from trivial. The massive energy outputs, collateral damage, and devastation of natural landscapes would result in CO₂ emissions on a scale comparable to major industrialized nations.

If such fights occurred in reality, the carbon consequences would be catastrophic for the planet. More than anything, the Z fighters wouldn’t be in as good of a light as they are currently. However, it’s also worth remembering that the science, technology, and even the planet in Dragon Ball Z are different from reality, so it’s still up for debate whether it would be “planet-shattering”.