This co2 emissions, birth rate & death rate simulation © David Bleja 2006-2008. By the same web designer: Human Rights Arts & Film Festival
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Please remember that this real time simulation is just that: a simulation. Although the co2 emission, birth rate and death rate data used in Breathing Earth comes from reputable sources, data that measures things on such a massive scale can never be 100% accurate. Please note however that, if anything, the co2 emission levels shown here are much more likely to be too low than they are to be too high.
Some people ask why Breathing Earth shows the Co2 emissions per country, rather than per capita. After all, wouldn't the per capita rates give a better indication of who is being most wasteful? For example, the citizens of Australia, Kuwait and Luxembourg are among the worst polluters in the world, but because of those countries' relatively low populations, their co2 emissions aren't very prominent on Breathing Earth. They have a point.
The fact of the matter, however, is that what is most important is how many c02 emissions there are from the perspective of Planet Earth. Although some countries are clearly much worse polluters than others, the problem is ultimately a global one that humans of various nationalities have caused, and which humans of various nationalities must work together to solve.
One thing must surely be obvious, though: The problem is largely a Western one. It is the Western countries who are leading the way in co2 emissions, and when non-Western countries have high co2 emission rates themselves, it's usually because they are adopting Western habits. Since we, the West, have been a leading cause of the problem, it seems to me that we, the West, need to step up and be the leaders in the solution.
Global warming (aka climate change) is probably the most important issue to face our generation, and quite possibly in any generation in history. Despite some claims in the media, the worldwide scientific community is virtually unanimous in its agreement that global warming is happening, and that it's our fault. The situation is still within our grasp, but we must act now, we must act strongly, and we must act together. We will never get a second chance.
The good news is that there are plenty of things that we can do to reduce our carbon footprint. The key word is reduce. We can greatly lessen our impact on climate change by using the planet's resources more responsibly. There are many things we can reduce, and many ways we can reduce them, but three of the major ones are: reduce the amount of animal products you consume (meat, dairy, eggs, leather, etc.), reduce the amount of fuel you use (car, air travel, etc.), and reduce the amount of electricity you use. If you're interested, there are plenty of good resources on the net. I encourage you to so your own research, though you might find some of the links below to be useful.
Footprint Network footprint calculator - Figure out your own ecological footprint.
wecansolveit.org - Join a global movement determined to help solve climate change.
Fight Climate Change with Diet Change - Find out why the meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined.
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