The United States in 2019 ranks
#2 in the world
in global consumption emissions.
Climate Change Results in Global Consequences
Sea Level Rise
A side effect of melting glaciers
- Average sea levels have increased over 8 inches (about 23 cm) since 1880.
- Every year the sea rises another .13 inches (about 3.2 mm).
- Sea level rise is accelerating and projected to rise by a foot by 2050!
- Floods, saltwater intrusion into groundwater, and coastal property and ecosystem destruction will become more commonplace.
Higher, Dryer Temperatures
Natural disasters like wildfires, droughts more common
- 2021 was the sixth-warmest year on record.
- 2013 through 2021 rank among the 10 warmest years on record.
- Averaged across land and ocean, the 2021 surface temperature was 1.51 °F (0.84 °C) warmer than the 20th century average of 57.0 °F (13.9 °C).
- Research shows that changes in climate create warmer, drier conditions, leading to longer and more active fire seasons.
- Climate Change alters the natural pattern of droughts, making them more frequent, longer, and more severe.
Business As Usual... Isn't Sustainable
Resource extraction means more CO2 emissions and fewer carbon sinks
Deforestation
- Trees absorb CO2 and release oxygen during photosynthesis.
- When forests are growing, surplus carbon is stored in tree trunks, roots, and soil through sequestration.
- When forests are cut down, that carbon is released as CO2.
- When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide into the air.
- Greenhouse gases like CO2 trap heat in our atmosphere.
- The burning of coal, natural gas, and oil for electricity and heat is the largest single source of global greenhouse gas emissions.
In 2019, CO2 was responsible for about
2/3
of the
total heating influence of all human-produced greenhouse gases.
But human-produced greenhouse gases
are not produced equally by all humans.
are not produced equally by all humans.
Different countries around the globe contribute vastly different amounts of CO2 consumption emissions
Hover over country for rankings, click country for drilldown, use play button to see changes over time
And United States production emissions compared to the World total over time in the following ways:
Click a line to view a detailed breakdown over time
How different United States emission sources influence safe levels in 2019
Check or uncheck CO2 types to see how they affect US emission totals.
*CO2 in Million Tonnes, US population is 4% of World, so 4% was chosen as safe level