Environment Statistics: Global Warming and Climate Change Data
Wed, 12/03/2008 - 18:57 — TechMission
- Annual average Arctic sea ice extent shrunk by 2.7 per cent per decade in the last century. Sea-ice decreases overall in summer by 7.4 per cent (UN, "Useful Climate Change Statistics")
- The maximum area covered by seasonally frozen ground has decreased by about 7% in the Northern Hemisphere since 1900 — in spring by up to 15 per cent (ibid.).
- Annual fossil CO2 emissions increased from an average of 6.4 gigatons of carbon (GtC) per year in the 1990s, to 7.2 GtC per year in 2000-2005 (ibid.)
- For the next two decades a warming of about 0.36°F per decade is projected for a range of emission scenarios (ibid.)
- Even if the concentrations of all greenhouse gases and aerosols had been kept constant at year 2000 levels, a further warming of about 0.18°F per decade would be expected (ibid.).
- Temperatures in excess of 3.42 to 8.28°C warmer than pre-industrial sustained for millennia will lead to eventual melt of the Greenland ice sheet. This would raise sea level by 23 feet — comparable to 125,000 years ago (ibid.).
- Hurricanes have increased in intensity and duration by 100% since the 1970s (MIT study, cited in "Global Warming by the Numbers")
- By 2030, Glacier National Park will have no glaciers left (U.S. Geological Survey, cited in the same).
- The United States is the largest carbon emitter in the world, and the 10th largest per capita, with 6,049,435,000 metric tons of carbon emitted. This is 22% of the world's total (Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, cited in Wikipedia, "List of countries by carbon dioxide emissions").
- China is the second-largest emitter, with 5,010,170 metric tons, 18.4% of the world's total (ibid.).
- The average American emits 19 tons of CO2, compared with 10.92 tons of CO2 for the average Briton (the Carbon Trust, cited in Ian Herbert and Jonathan Brown, "Your carbon footprint revealed").
- Ninety-seven percent of the climate scientists surveyed [by STATS at George Mason University] believe “global average temperatures have increased” during the past century (STATS, "Climate Scientists Agree on Warming, Disagree on Dangers, and Don't Trust the Media's Coverage of Climate Change").
- Eighty-four percent say they personally believe human-induced warming is occurring, and 74% agree that “currently available scientific evidence” substantiates its occurrence. Only 5% believe that that human activity does not contribute to greenhouse warming; the rest are unsure (ibid.).
- Based on current trends, 41% of scientists believe global climate change will pose a very great danger to the earth in the next 50 to 100 years, compared to 13% who see relatively little danger. Another 44% rate climate change as moderately dangerous (ibid.).
- Around 140 species are endangered or critically endangered in South & Southeast Asia. Over 120 are endangered in sub-Saharan Africa (World Conservation Union, cited in Naturewatch, "Endangered Species").
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