Climate Change Highlights

• By 2030 the number of automobiles in the world will increase by 50%.
• The world consumes two barrels of oil for every barrel discovered.
• It took 125 years to consume the first trillion barrels of oil – the world will consume the next trillion in only 30 years.
• In 20 years the world will consume 40% more oil than it does today.
• During the last one hundred years the global temperature has warmed by an average of 0.6°C.
• It is predicted that global temperatures in 2100 will be 5.8°C warmer than they were in 1990. This will make the Earth warmer than it has been in 50 million years.
• The current pace of sea-level rise is three times the historical rate, and appears to be accelerating.
• Scientists estimate the sea level will rise by 19 inches by 2100, though it could rise as much as 37 inches.
• Much of the United States has already warmed, by as much as 4°F.
• None of the lower 48 states in the U.S. experienced below average temperatures in 2002.
• Since the beginning of the Industrial Revolution, carbon dioxide (a green house gas linked to climate change) in the atmosphere has increased by 31%.
• Diseases such as malaria are predicted to spread as the world grows warmer, due to the carriers of disease spreading out over a larger geographical area.
• Of particular concern is the stability of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet. A sudden collapse would raise sea levels 16-20 feet, though the likelihood of such a collapse before the year 2100 is low.
• Despite natural emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) emitted by volcanoes, for example, human activities are now adding about 7 billion metric tons of carbon into the atmosphere every year.
• New energy discoveries are mainly occurring in places where resources are difficult to extract—physically, technically, economically, and politically.
• Oil production is in decline in 33 of the 48 largest oil producing countries,3 yet energy demand is increasing around the globe as economies grow and nations develop.
• Oil and gas currently provide more than half of the world’s energy supply, and according to the International Energy Agency, they—along with coal (which also releases CO2)—will continue to be the major sources of energy well into the 21st century unless things are changed.
• The International Energy Agency estimates that the world will need to invest $16 trillion over the next three decades to maintain and expand energy supply.
• Over half the world’s oil supplies lie in just 5 countries.
• Agriculture and biodiversity are already being impacted by global warming. 10% of all known plant species are under threat of extinction.
• 17 Million Americans, 5 million of which are children, suffer from asthma. Public health experts are worries that those numbers will rise with continued greenhouse gas emissions.
• People living in cities such as Atlanta, Baltimore, and Cincinnati could by mid-century see a 60% increase in the number of high smog level days.
• Diseases such as malaria and West Nile virus will occur in large numbers in the United States as a result of warmer temperatures.
• The Arctic ice pack has lost an area the size of Texas and Arizona combined since the mid-1970’s.
• Automobiles count for a third of the U.S.’s Carbon Dioxide (CO2) emissions – the largest source after power plants.
• Each gallon of gasoline burned creates 19 pounds of CO2.
• Vehicles in the United States release more CO2 than all the energy sources (such as heating, electricity, vehicles, and factories) in all of India.
• As many as a third of all wildlife species in some regions could be facing extinction in the next 50 years because of global climate change.
• Salmon, trout, and waterfowl are particularly vulnerable to climate change.
• Climate change is having a disastrous effect on coral reefs, including in the Florida Keys, the Bahamas, and Mexico.
• Winter temperatures in the Arctic have warmed by as much as 7° F over the last 60 years, a faster rate than in any other region. This affects wildlife such as foxes, caribou, walruses, and polar bears. It also affects the lifestyles of native peoples in the Arctic.
• By planting a large tree that creates shade, one can reduce heating and cooling costs annually by up to 40%.