Some Interesting Facts (scroll down and see how you can reduce your carbon footprint)

One hundred tons (91 tonnes) of ancient plant life is required to create 1 gallon (3.8 liters) of gasoline.

In 2005, coal, oil and gas released  32 gigatons  (billion tons) of CO2 into the atmosphere.

The Oceans absorb about 2 gigatons of CO2 annually.

Forests and other green terrestrial life absorb another 1.7 gigatons of CO2 annually. Saplings or young trees are important because they are experiencing a faster phase of growth than mature trees, so they need CO2. The efficiency of land plants at withdrawing CO2 will be somewhat offset as temperatures rise because soils in the far north are warming up. They are releasing methane and CO2 into the atmosphere as decomposition rates accelerate.

The burning of fossil fuels is continuing to add at least 28.3 gigatons (from 2002 emissions data) of CO2 into the atmosphere despite the natural offset of both oceans and forests.

Today we are using, on average, four times more energy than our forebears did 100 years ago. Our consumptive use of fossil fuel has increased 16 fold over that same period.

We are now burning the equivalent of 422 years worth of sunshine locked in 300 million years of forests in just one year!

When fossil fuels are burned in addition to releasing energy they also release CO2. The rising CO2 levels in our atmosphere are effcient a trapping heat - especially at night - that would otherwise escape into space. The heat trapped is roughly equivalent to the heat generated by 25 trillion light bulbs burning constantly. That is equal to each of us burning 4000 light bulbs every second of every hour, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year!

From 1991 to 2004 (a 13-year time span), twice as much glacial ice melted in Europe than in the 30 preceding years (from 1961-1990).

Native pine and spruce bark beetles in North America have destroyed enough timber (at least a billion mature trees) to supply 5 years of wood to the American housing market.

The six worst fire seasons in America in modern times have occurred in recent years: 1988, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2005 and 2006.

Global warming is pushing fires in the West higher up into the mountain ecosystems that burn far less frequently than valley bottoms. Over the past two decades, those areas, ranging from 5,300 to more than 8,000 feet (1,615 to 2,438 meters), have had the largest increase in big fires.

Over the past thirteen years, ten of the past twelve years were the warmest surface temperatures ever recorded. The ocean temperatures have risen at least 1.9 miles (3 kilometers) beneath the surface. Glaciers, snow cover and permafrost have decreased in both hemispheres. Sea levels are rising at the rate of almost .08 of an inch (2 millimeters) a year. The numbers of cold days, nights and frosts have become rarer while hot days, hot nights and heat-waves have become more frequent. 

2005 was the hottest year ever recorded with an average surface temperature of 58.6 degrees Fahrenheit (14.7 degrees Celsius).

The winter of 2005-2006 was Canada’s warmest on record.

The fall of 2006 was the warmest in central Britain since 1659 or the inception of continuous record keeping. Germany and Switzerland were 10 degrees Fahrenheit warmer in November and December. From Norway to the Mediterranean temperatures were also 5 degrees Fahrenheit warmer than normal. It was so warm in December that Geneva’s Chestnut trees, the official harbinger of spring, leafed. Also in December of 2006 fruit trees all over Western Europe began to bloom. The fruit bearing flowers will eventually be damaged by a winter frost which could result in no fruit for the year. The Alps were green until late January 2007. Austria’s Central Institute for Meteorological Geodynamics reported that it was the warmest fall since 700 AD. Snowfalls across Europe are half of what they were 40 years ago and winter is shorter.

The winter of 2007 was the hottest ever recorded.

April 2007 was the hottest that England has experienced in 350 years.

In 1979, satellite images showed that seasonal ice coverage equaled the size of continental United States. By 2003, sea ice had shrunk by an area equal to Texas, Georgia and New York or 250 million acres (101 million hectares).

In 2002, The Larsen B ice shelf of 1,268 square miles (3,284 square kilometers), about the size of Luxembourg, broke off Antarctica.

Between April 2004 and 2006, Greenland lost ice at about two and a half times the rate of the previous two years. That is the equivalent of more than 31 billion tons (28.1 billion tonnes) of melt-water per year.

In 2005 an ancient ice shelf cracked off northern Ellesmere Island about 500 miles south of the North Pole. It is the size of a small city: that is, its 130 feet (37 meters) thick and measures roughly 9.3 miles by 3.1 miles (or 15 by 5 kilometers). To put it another way it’s about the size of 11,000 football fields. It is currently stuck in the winter ice (2007) but it is just a matter of time before it’s freed and floats away.

 

WHAT YOU CAN DO TO REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT 

If you don’t have to drive your car don’t do it! Walk or ride a bicycle.

When it comes time to buy a car, consider a hybrid. You won’t need to buy as much gasoline at the pump nor spend as much money.

If you can, take public transit. Use the down time to read, listen to your ipod or just relax.

Save energy and save money by changing your incandescent light bulbs to ultra-efficient light bulbs.

Run your dishwasher, washing machine and dryer only when you have full loads. Run your washing machine on warm or cold but not on hot.

By lowering your thermostat in the winter or raising it in the summer by only 2 degrees Fahrenheit each household can save 350 pounds of CO2 emissions a year.

Set your hot water heater no higher than 120 degrees Fahrenheit.

Make sure that your home has double-pane glass windows and you’ll save on energy costs in the wintertime.

Make sure that the furnace, air conditioners and heat-pump filters are kept clean and replace filters regularly.

When you upgrade your appliances, TVs, telephones or sound equipment make sure that they are efficient. Check the Energy Star Label.

Always use the energy-savings settings on refrigerators, dishwashers, washing machines, clothes dryers and all other appliances.

Take shorter showers. Try 6 minutes instead of 10 minutes. You will save a lot of WATER and energy .

Install low-flow shower heads and if your State hasn’t legislated ultra-low-flow-toilets install them anyway. They save WATER.

Use a push lawn mower and a broom instead a gasoline mower or blower. You will get a work-out, reduce noise pollution and cut-down on your carbon foot-print.

Plant trees! Not only do they absorb CO2 but they provide much needed shade in the summer to protect your home by keeping it cooler and trees provide habitat for urban critters.

Go solar! Investigate putting solar panels on your roof. In many States you can sell excess power back into the local grid. Database of State Incentive for Renewable Energy.

Check your tire pressure monthly and change your air filter at least every 4 months.

Carpool to work or events.

Plan your errands so that you don’t use your car for several single-purpose trips.

Check and see if your town or city belongs to Mayors Climate Protection Agreement.

Calculate your carbon footprint. The purchase carbon offset to make up for your emissions. Most of us in North America use between 10 and 24 tons (8.9. to 21.4 tonnes) of CO2 a year. Buy your credits from The Conservation Fund, Solar Electric Light Fund, Carbon Fund, TerraPass, Native Energy or Sustainable Travel International.
 

REDUCE, REUSE and RECYCLE. Remember the 3 Rs: leave less of a carbon footprint.