State of The Planet: How Earth isn't doing so hot, by getting so hot
Today is Earth Day: A day to be thankful for our home planet and to take a moment and think about what we can do to take better care of the place so it’ll continue to be a good home for a few more millennia.
Frankly, Earth isn’t doing so well these days, with greenhouse gas emissions continuing to raise the planet’s average temperature.
The Arctic Ice Cap Is Shrinking
The amount of ice covering the Arctic Sea has been shrinking by about 12.2% per decade over the 45 years it’s been closely monitored by satellite. The reason for this? Warmer temperatures.
Photos comparing Antarctica between 1979 and 2020
The Earth Keeps Getting Warmer
Many of the ailments we’re noticing — massive wildfires, busier hurricane seasons, more extreme weather — is directly attributable to rising greenhouse gas emissions.
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution 250 years ago, meterologists say the amount of methane in the atmosphere has more than doubled. As the planet continues to warm, we’ll see more heat waves, droughts, wildfires and hurricanes ... and less of our polar ice caps.
What we’re seeing now “isn’t the new normal,” says climate scientist Gavis Schmidt, director of NASA’s Goddard Institute. “This is a precursor of more to come.”
Average Temperature of The Earth's Surface
Compared to the average temperature between 1901 and 2000. All data cited in degrees Celsius.
Your good news for this Earth Day: Scientists say it might not be too late to reverse the causes of global warming and mitigate much of the damage. But we can’t wait much longer.
1.5° Celsius or 2.7° Fahrenheit: The total rise in global temperature to which the 2016 Paris Agreement seeks to hold by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
8%: The amount of total greenhouse gas emissions for which the fashion industry is responsible.
27,000: The number of trees cut down every day just to make toilet paper.
80 trillion: Estimated number of aluminum cans used worldwide every year.
1 million: Estimated number of aquatic animals killed by plastic waste every year.