CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY 9 April 2008

(From my heroes at the Earth Policy Institute - My offer, same as always: Buy EPI’s “Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Humanity” and if you don’t find it the most significant read of your life, I will personally refund your money.)

Eco-Economy Indicator – CARBON EMISSIONS April 9, 2008 Eco-Economy Indicators are twelve trends that the Earth Policy Institute tracks to measure progress in building an eco-economy. Carbon emissions are an important trend to follow because as atmospheric concentrations of carbon dioxide rise, so does the earth’s temperature.

CARBON DIOXIDE EMISSIONS ACCELERATING RAPIDLY Frances C. Moore

Global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from the burning of fossil fuels stood at a record 8.38 gigatons of carbon (GtC) in 2006, 20 percent above the level in 2000. Emissions grew 3.1 percent a year between 2000 and 2006, more than twice the rate of growth during the 1990s. Carbon dioxide emissions have been growing steadily for 200 years, since fossil fuel burning began on a large scale at the start of the Industrial Revolution. But the growth in emissions is now accelerating despite unambiguous evidence that carbon dioxide is warming the planet and disrupting ecosystems around the globe.

For entire text see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008.htm

For data see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/2008_data.htm

For an index of Earth Policy Institute resources related to Carbon Emissions see http://www.earthpolicy.org/Indicators/CO2/index.htm

And for more information on stabilizing climate by cutting carbon emissions 80 percent by 2020, see Chapters 11-12 in Plan B 3.0: Mobilizing to Save Civilization, at http://www.earthpolicy.org/Books/PB3/index.htm.