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Why do we need new sources of energy? The burning of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere, which causes the earth’s climate to warm. The concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere has risen 41 percent since the Industrial Revolution. Today’s levels are the highest in three million years—since before humans existed.1 What exactly are fossil fuels? Fossil fuels—which include petroleum, natural gas, coal, and methane—come from organic matter created hundreds of millions of years ago. When burned, they transfer CO2 that had been “locked up” in the ground for millennia directly into the air. How much atmospheric carbon dioxide do humans produce by consuming energy? The world’s output of carbon dioxide from human energy consumption totaled about 32.5 billion tons in 2011. That figure has been steadily rising.2 • Extinction of plant and animal species. Some 20 to 30 percent of species could be driven to extinction if global temperatures rise more than 2°C or 3°C (3.6°F to 5.4°F) above those of the preindustrial era. Temperatures have already increased by nearly 1˚C.9 • Spread of disease. In the wake of heavy rainfalls, runoff from land may contaminate water supplies and spread waterborne infections. In addition, mosquitos that transmit diseases such as malaria and dengue fever thrive in warm climates. Warmer weather may be enabling malaria to spread to higher elevations.10 What activities are the primary producers of atmospheric carbon? The electric power industry’s carbon emissions represent the largest factor in the U.S. contribution to climate change— about a third of the nation’s total emissions in 2011.3 In the United States, approximately 60 percent of each person’s carbon footprint comes from the goods and services they buy, while the other 40 percent comes from their energy use at home, driving, and flying.4 How much has the Earth warmed as a result of humans’ carbon output? The Earth’s surface temperature warmed by 1.1°F to 1.6°F between 1906 and 2005. The rate at which the temperature is rising has almost doubled in the last 50 years.5 Will global warming stop immediately if carbon emissions cease? No. Even if carbon emissions stopped today, warming from existing emissions would continue for many generations. A significant portion of carbon emissions will persist in the atmosphere for thousands of years. Atmospheric carbon triggers deep-sea warming, which continues to raise the earth’s average temperature even after emissions stop.6 What are the consequences of global warming? • Extreme weather. If global warming continues, we’ll experience more severe storms, frequent and intense heat waves, droughts, and wildfires. Change is already underway. Nearly 80 percent of Americans live in counties stricken by a weather-related disaster since 2007.7 • Melting glaciers. In 2012, more than 90 percent of Greenland’s ice-covered surface experienced melting, the Arctic ice cap shrank to a record low, and the polar ice that rims Antarctica melted at an alarmingly rapid rate. If global warming continues and shelf ice in Greenland and Antarctica are lost, the resulting rise in global sea levels would devastate coastal areas worldwide.8 Sources: 1. The New York Times, “Heat-Trapping Gas Passes Milestone, Raising Fears,“ May 10, 2013 http://www.nytimes.com/2013/05/11/science/earth/carbon-dioxide-level-passeslong-feared-milestone.html 2. U.S. Energy Information Administration, International Energy Statistics http://www.eia.gov/cfapps/ipdbproject/iedindex3.cfm?tid=90&pid=44&aid =8&cid=regions&syid=1994&eyid=2011&unit=MMTCD 3. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Climate Change—Sources of Greenhouse Gas Emissions” http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/ghgemissions/sources/electricity.html 4.Carbonfund.org http://www.carbonfund.org/reduce 5. NASA Earth Observatory, “Global Warming” http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/GlobalWarming/page2.php 6. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, “Future Climate Change” http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/science/future.html 7. Take Part, “Still True, Still Inconvenient: What We’ve Learned Since 2006” June 9, 2013 http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/06/10/climate-change-what-we-know-now 8. Take Part, “What the Ice Is Telling Us,” June 13, 2013 http://www.takepart.com/article/2013/06/13/climate-change-melting-polar-ice 9. Time, “Why a Hotter World Will Mean More Extinctions,” May 13, 2013 http://science.time.com/2013/05/13/why-a-hotter-world-will-mean-moreextinctions/#ixzz2ZLgg7PdU 10. Harvard School of Public Health, Center for Health and the Global Environment, “Climate Change and Infectious Disease” http://chge.med.harvard.edu/topic/climate-change-and-infectious-disease