Beach Trading Blog

In an effort to do our part to help the environment by sharing some factoids here are 13 scary facts about global warming we thought we’d share on this Friday the 13th:

• 5% – Increase in the global carbon dioxide emissions from the burning of fossil fuels since the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1992.
• 388.57 ppm – Average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in May 2008, a record high.
• 541 – 970 ppm – The projected concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by 2100 under a business as usual scenario where we don’t dramatically reduce global warming emissions.
• 260 – 280 ppm – Average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere before industrial emissions.
• 50 – 200 years – Length of time carbon dioxide stays in the earth’s atmosphere before it is absorbed into carbon sinks.
• 1000 years – Length of time changes in the earth’s surface temperature, rainfall, and sea level will remain even after carbon dioxide emissions are completely stopped.
• 34% – Percentage that 2008′s Arctic seasonal sea ice melt outpaced normal levels.
• 70% – Increase in the rate of Greenland’s ice melt over the last five years.
• 1.7 days – Number of days earlier seasons are coming than 50 years ago.
• 1.5 million – Number of acres of forests in Colorado destroyed by the pine beetle, which is better able to survive warmer winters and is wrecking havoc in America’s western forests.
• $427 million – Amount spent by the oil and coal industries in the first six months of 2008 in political contributions, lobbying expenditures and advertising to oppose climate action.
• 0 – Number of global warming bills passed by the Senate.
• 0 – Number of global warming bills passed by the House.

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