Shocking Facts About The Environment

 

The world is experiencing a crisis of never-before-seen proportions in the air, land and sea. The essential, inter-connected web of life is getting smaller as a direct result of human activity.

  • Carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have risen from about 270 parts per million (0.026%) before the industrial age to about 409 parts per million (0.041%) by 2019, a 51% increase over pre-industrial values. Greenhouse gas concentrations are at record levels, and, according to the UN World Meteorological Organization, global temperatures are on course for a 5 – 9 degree Fahrenheit rise in this century. Failure to prevent this will lead to more extreme weather, higher sea levels and continued loss of plant and animal species. This is nearly double the amount targeted at the 2015 global climate conference in Paris. (www.reuters.com) For a graphic record of historical temperatures from 5 leading authorities, go here: https://climate.nasa.gov/scientific-consensus/
  • Every year, humans release nearly 40 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere – an average of 5.5 tons per inhabitant! The American average is closer to 20 tons per person!
  • 40% increase in the global tourism carbon footprint between 2009 and 2013
  • Nature – what we know as plants and animals – is declining globally at rates unprecedented in human history…….
  • 1 million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction in the next decades.
  • 75% of the land mass and 66% of the marine environments have been “severely altered” by human actions.
  • 85% of the wetlands existing in 1700 were lost by the year 2000….percentagewise it is 3 times faster than forest loss.
  • 290 million hectares (717 million acres) of native forest lost between 1990 and 2015.
  • 32% decline in global forest area compared to pre-industrial levels.
  • At least 680 vertebrate species have been driven to extinction since the 16th century.  
  • Over 500,000 species (+/- 9%) now have insufficient habitat for long-term survival.
  • Over 40% of amphibian species are threatened with extinction.
  • Over 32% of reef forming corals, sharks and marine mammals are threatened with extinction.
  • 10% of insect species, including bees needed for pollination, are threatened with extinction.
  • World population has tripled since 1950 and doubled since 1970 – and greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) have doubled since 1980!
  • The most conservative estimates suggest that raising livestock accounts for about 15 -18 % of global greenhouse gas emissions worldwide; that’s more than all emissions from ships, planes, trucks, cars and all other transportation, combined.
  • Comprehensive assessments of direct and indirect emissions skyrocket that number to more than 50 percent of global GHGs, according to Project Drawdown’s research.
  • Meat production is the largest driver of deforestation globally and the most land-and-resource-intensive commodity there is — and that doesn’t account for matters of animal rights, human health and loss of biodiversity that come along with livestock production.
  • Sea levels have risen 6 – 8” since 1900 and are now rising faster than ever.
  • By 2050 there will be more plastic in the oceans than there are fish (by weight).
  • 8-12 million metric tons of plastic are thrown in to the ocean annually! (www.earthday.org)
  • A patch of plastic garbage known as the Great Pacific Garbage Patch 2 times the size of Texas and containing over 8 trillion pieces (or 80,000 tons of plastic) is floating halfway between Hawaii and California. This is the equivalent mass of 500 jumbo jets (https://www.theoceancleanup.com/great-pacific-garbage-patch/)!
  • 400 million tons of heavy metals, solvents, toxic sludge and other industrial wastes are dumped annually into the world’s rivers and oceans.
  • Meanwhile, $345 billion worth of global subsidies go for fossil fuels: coal gets 52% of all post-tax subsidies, petroleum gets 33% of all post-tax subsides and natural gas approximately 10%. Billions of dollars spent to prop up precisely the industries most responsible for greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Incredibly, the UN estimates that by 2030, the world will need 30% more water, 40% more energy and 50% more food. Potential water crises and food crises were identified in the Forum’s 2014 risk report as among the top 10 global risks.

 

 

Quotes & Resources

Jared Diamond, scholar, professor and Pulitzer Prize winning author of “Guns, Germs and Steel ” stated recently:

“At the rate we’re going now, resources that are essential for complex societies are being managed unsustainably. Fisheries around the world, most fisheries are being managed unsustainably, and they’re getting depleted. Farms around the world, most farms are being managed unsustainably. Soil, topsoil around the world. Fresh water around the world is being managed unsustainably. With all these things, at the rate we’re going now, we can carry on with our present unsustainable use for a few decades, and by around 2050 we won’t be able to continue it any longer. Which means that by 2050 either we’ve figured out a sustainable course, or it’ll be too late.”

One of the biggest problems we face is simply greed: every company wants to sell more and earn more. If one company – or one country – agrees to stop producing something harmful, a dozen other companies or countries are ready to step up and take their place – legally or illegally. Human greed is destroying our planet.            

 

Resources

https://www.tfa2020.org/en/            Tropical Forest Alliance: TFA 2020 is a global public-private partnership. Its governance serves the needs of partners from three sectors: business, government, and civil society. Specifically, TFA 2020 is committed to reducing tropical deforestation related to key global commodities by 2020, starting with soy, beef, palm oil, and paper and pulp. Its governance has this mission at its core.

https://www.weforum.org/about/world-economic-forum   Word Economic Forum: The World Economic Forum is the International Organization for Public-Private Cooperation. The Forum engages the foremost political, business and other leaders of society to shape global, regional and industry agendas. It was established in 1971 as a not-for-profit foundation and is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. It is independent, impartial and not tied to any special interests. The Forum strives in all its efforts to demonstrate entrepreneurship in the global public interest while upholding the highest standards of governance. Moral and intellectual integrity is at the heart of everything it does.

http://www.opr.ca.gov/facts/list-of-scientific-organizations.html    Worldwide Scientific Organizations: This page lists the nearly 200 worldwide scientific organizations that hold the position that climate change has been caused by human action.

https://climate.nasa.gov/       Vital Signs of the Planet:   NASA’s website dedicated to monitoring and reporting the vital signs as they relate to the planet’s health.