@DukeAlumni Twitter under fire for tweet about reducing carbon emissions in Africa

A tweet from the official Duke Alumni account is under fire for seemingly implying the onus for reducing carbon emissions is on people living in Africa. “Replacing traditional wood-burning stoves in sub-Saharan Africa with cleaner technology could offset carbon emissions—if people would use them,” the tweet reads. “A Duke team is addressing obstacles that prevent people from changing their practices.” The tweet then links to a story on the Duke Global Health Institute website. As of 11:25 a.m. Wednesday, the tweet has been quote tweeted 730 times and has over 200 replies, with many users criticizing Duke for not acknowledging how much of carbon emissions come from the United States and other Western countries. The tweet has been liked only 23 times and retweeted three times—the high number of quote tweets compared to the small number of likes and retweets is referred to as being “ratioed.” “What impact would a cessation of the West’s insatiable appetite for war have on slashing carbon emissions? How many tons of CO2 were emitted during the invasion of Afghanistan and Iraq? Bombing of Syria?,” wrote one user. “Shaming people whose carbon emissions is far less than ours just isn’t it.” Others also noted Duke’s…
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