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The Environmental Impact of Phineas and Ferb's Creations


The Environmental Impact of Phineas and Ferb's Creations

I saw the trailer for Phineas and Ferb: Candace Against the Universe about a week ago, and I'm so excited to watch it. Unfortunately, it's only available on Disney Plus, so I'll either subscribe or use the free trial. The trailer got me thinking about my childhood obsession with Phineas and Ferb. Then I wondered, how do they have the resources to build all of these things?, and do they reuse the materials, or do Dr. Doofenshmirtz's inators cause them to buy new stuff every time Phineas says, "Ferb, I know what we're going to do today!"
        
I decided to analyze the environmental impacts of what Phineas and Ferb have built during their 104 days of summer vacation. Before I go into the basics of their carbon footprint, there are two things I must get out of the way. First, this is only a TV show, and we will look into what Phineas and Ferb have built; we will not analyze the impact of producing a television series. Second, I did not rewatch all of the episodes before writing this (thank goodness), so if - at some point - they said that they cut back on the resources they use or if they reduce their energy consumption, let me know in the comments.
    
The first thing that comes to mind when I think of Phineas and Ferb is the rollercoaster they built. It was a challenge to find how much rollercoasters weigh, so I resorted to an answer on Quora. It said:

"For example, the Steel Force roller coaster at Dorney Park in Allentown, Pennsylvania -- which is 5,600 feet long and has a 205-foot drop, as well as a 510-degree downward helix and a double-up -- was constructed using 2,000 tons of steel and 6,000 tons of concrete footers. On the other extreme, Step 2 sells a 3-piece, 10-foot long plastic toddler roller-coaster weighing only 37 pounds."

The rollercoasters seen in the episodes Rollercoaster and Rollercoaster: The Musical! were likely much heavier than Steel Force, though they probably saved a few pounds by not including safety features. A roller coaster that has the force to make the Eiffel Tower bend like rubber and fly the people on it into space requires an abundance of resources and tons of carbon emissions.


     
This is only one of the things the boys built. Other inventions include a forcefield that covered the galaxy and a superhero suit.
    
This might not seem good so far, but Phineas and Ferb possess one quality that could make them an important part of fighting climate change: creativity. More than ever, we need creative solutions to combat the warming climate, and I trust Phineas and Ferb to find one. However, they're not real.
    
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