There is more carbon dioxide in the air than ever before in human history | Climate change |
From 2030-2050, climate change will cause 250,000 deaths a year | |
If not stopped, global temperatures may reach tipping point in 2030 | |
The 20 warmest years on record were all since 1997 | |
Indonesia is moving its capital city because of climate change | |
15 billion batteries a year end up in landfill sites | Recycling |
9.5 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away every year in the UK | |
Every tonne of paper recycled saves 17 trees | |
Only 75% of aluminium drink cans are recycled in the UK | |
There is no limit to the amount of times glass can be recycled | |
One wind turbine can generate enough electricity to power 1,400 homes | Clean energy |
Just over a third of the UK's energy comes from renewable sources | |
Solar panels on the moon could supply all of the energy we need | |
Hydropower currently produces around 17% of the world’s electricity | |
The US generates the most geothermal energy | |
A 5-minute shower uses about 50 litres of water | Sustainability |
A bath can use up to 180 litres of water | |
Agricultural emissions could be reduced by 70% if we all became vegan | |
Mobile phones contain 30 times more gold per gram than gold ore | |
Batteries produce 50 times less energy than they take to make | |
80% of ocean pollution comes from the land | Ocean pollution |
There is more plastic in our oceans than stars in our galaxy | |
Every year, 100,000 sea mammals are killed by ocean pollution | |
There is six times as much plastic in the oceans than there is plankton | |
Noise pollution from ships causes cellular damage to invertebrates | |
Air pollution causes 36,000 deaths in the UK a year | Air pollution |
Diesel exhaust fumes cause cancer | |
Having plants inside your home helps to reduce air pollutants | |
92% of us live in places where air pollution exceeds safe limits | |
Air pollution kills more people than smoking does | |
An area of foret the size of a football pitch is cut down every second | Deforestation |
If deforestation continues at current rates, they will be gone in 100 years | |
Most forest is cut down to make way for farms | |
Half the word's plants and animals live in rainforests | |
The Amazon rainforest produces 6% of the world's oxygen | |
There are several hundred international environmental agreements | Treaties |
The Montreal Protocol was finalised in 1987 to protect the ozone layer | |
The Madrid Protocal makes Antarctica a natural reserve | |
2nd worst polluter, the US, withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement | |
Japan, Iceland and Norway all hunt whales despite its ban in 1986 | |
Rachel Carson highlighted the dangers of chemical pollution in 1962 | Activists |
James Lovelock came up with his Gaia Theory in the 1960s | |
Jane Goodall is famous for her work to conserve wild chimpanzees | |
Greta Thunberg is known for leading protests against global warming | |
Extinction Rebellion makes non-violent protest against climate change | |
Populations of vertebrates have more than halved since 1970 | Extinction |
Species are dying off 1,000 faster than they did before humans arrived | |
50% of species may be extinct by the end of the century | |
40% of amphibians are in danger of extinction | |
Humans are causing a 6th mass extinction. Dinosaurs died in the 5th | |