Climate activism has a long history of innumeracy and gaps in baseline scientific knowledge (ask an activist how much warming is projected from now to 2100 in a moderate IPCC scenario – the flagship warming phenomenon). Some years ago, I came upon something so stupid that it paralyzed me. It locked my brain when I tried to write about it, and I let it sit for years like a Horcrux I dare not touch. Just knowing that it was out there bothered me.