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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Welcome to Breathing Earth. This real-time simulation displays the CO2 emissions of every country in the world, as well as their birth and death rates.
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.
All death rate data was taken from September 2005 data, compiled by the CIA World Factbook, as it appeared on wikipedia.org in August 2006. All birth rate data taken from August 2006 data compiled by the United Nations, as it appeared on wikipedia.org in August 2006. All co2 emissions data taken from 2002 figures compiled by the United Nations, as it appeared on wikipedia.org in August 2006.
There was an unavailability of a portion of the data for a few of the tinier countries (eg. Vanuatu, Tuvalu, Lesotho). In such cases, I made estimates based on their population, economy, and the data of their relevant neighbours. In all such cases, the figures were so low that even had my estimates been wildly inaccurate, the effect on the simulation would have been negligible.
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, yet their co2 emissions aren't very prominent on Breathing Earth because of those countries' relatively low populations.
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 co2 emissions problem, surely it is we who must 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. The worldwide scientific community is virtually unanimous in its agreement that global warming is happening, that that it's our fault. If we let it get out of our control, the consequences - which will already begin occuring later this century - will be catastrophic. The situation is still within our grasp, but we must act now, we must act strongly, and we must act together. Individuals, companies, and governments across the globe must each do what they can to reverse climate change. 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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