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- Fact: World
- Fact: U.S.A.
- Fact: Environment
- Fact: Technology
- Fact: Science
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- Fact: Society
Fact: Environment
Over the last 150 years, burning fossil fuels has resulted in more than a 25 percent increase in the amount of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere.
—Union of Concerned Scientists
There’s been a 35 percent decline in freshwater species since 1970.
—WWF
Fossil fuels—coal, oil, and natural gas—are America's primary source of energy, accounting for 85 percent of current US fuel use.
—Union of Concerned Scientists
Air conditioning and heating account for almost half of electricity use in the average American home.
—Nature Conservancy
The US contains only 5 percent of the world's population, but contributes 22 percent of the world's carbon emissions.
—Nature Conservancy
Personal cars and trucks in the United States emit 20 percent of the US’s carbon emissions.
—Nature Conservancy
15 percent of carbon emissions come from deforestation and land use change.
—Nature Conservancy
If action is not taken to curb global carbon emissions, climate change could cost between 5 and 20 percent of the annual global gross domestic product, according to a British government report.
—Nature.org
Only 3 percent of the water on Earth is freshwater in nature, and about 2/3 of this is frozen in glaciers and polar ice caps.
—WWF
Power plants use 136 billion gallons of fresh water per day during the production of energy from fossil fuels, nuclear, or geothermal sources.
—EPA