Ecoclimax

How many years of current emission would use up the IPCC's carbon budgets for different levels of warming? How do the impacts of 1.5°C of warming compare to 2°C of warming?

The carbon footprint of a  gasoline car (180 gCO2e/km) or diesel car (170 gCO2e/km), which are currently the most common types of vehicles. Four categories of countries can be distinguished in Europe:     1. Countries where electricity is mainly generated from renewable sources, such as Iceland or Norway, where hydropower produces almost all electricity. In those countries, electric car is a real solution to fight climate change (these are all green(ish) in the map).         2. Countries where electricity is mainly generated by nuclear power plants. In France, Slovakia and Hungary, nuclear power plants generate respectively 77%, 57% and 54% of electricity. In those countries, electric cars carbon footprint is lower than traditional thermic cars since nuclear power plants don’t produce carbon dioxide, but the nuclear waste question still remains.         3. Countries where electricity is mainly generate...

September is usually the month when CO2 is at its lowest after a summer of plants growing and sucking it up in the northern hemisphere. As fall wears on, those plants lose their leaves, which in turn decompose, releasing the stored carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere. At Mauna Loa Observatory, the world’s marquee site for monitoring carbon dioxide, there are signs that the process has begun but levels have remained above 400 ppm. Via climatecentral.org

The Great Smoky Mountains National Park is home to over 1,900 differentspecies. You can now view where the park's different plants and live on a new map of the natioanal park.

After the earthquakes here in Christchurch (New Zealand) a lot of the residential land was actually red zone and deemed unfit to be built on and that's just one of the reasons why the tiny house movement is really exploding here. You can no longer build a regular home on some of the land but a tiny house on a trailer is absolutely perfect. The problem is though not everyone wants to live in a tiny house and that's why this next place we're about to visit is very special. Paul has constructed a small house still on a trailer that even makes passive design principles. It's a very clever idea. A lot of people that love the idea of tiny homes but perhaps think they couldn't really actually practically live in a space and this here is the perfect solution for that. It's still small by regular home standards incredibly economical (US $55,000) and resources and makes great financial sense this is a fantastic solution.

Wherever possible, estimates have been computed using standardized categories and methods in order to enhance cross-national comparability. This approach may result in some cases in differences between the estimates presented here and the official national statistics prepared and endorsed by individual WHO Member States. These differences between WHO and national statistics may be larger for countries with small cities and settlements which may not be fully represented by the resolution of the WHO model. This may be compounded for isolated regions where air pollution is primarily from local sources and is experienced at very local levels. It is important to stress that these estimates are also subject to considerable uncertainty, especially for countries with weak statistical information systems. WHO Guideline values (annual mean) PM2.5: 10 μg/m3 , PM10: 20 μg/m3

130 years of Europe's changing population. The population of countries like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Ireland and Spain grew more slowly.

In 2015, most U.S. states had an obesity rate greater than 30 percent. Via flowingdata.com Related post: -  Obesity prevalence in the United States (2004 - 2013)

Brave man from Ontario saves skunk from a Coke can.

The capacity of renewable energy produced in the world has grown by over 47 per cent in the past five years. In 2015 alone the world has seen a growth of 8.3 per cent in renewable power generation, which is the highest annual growth rate ever recorded. By the end of last year, a capacity of 1,985 Gigawatts (GW) existed globally. In comparison, this is 5.3 times the amount of energy produced by all nuclear power plants. Via viewsoftheworld.net

- Around 77 million people are moving from rural to urban areas each year. - The number of megacities (cities with more than 10 million people) has more than doubled over the past two decades, from 14 (1995) to 37 (2016). From 1995 to 2015, Asia’s urban population increased by an average of 2.78% each year. The circle below contains 22 of the world's 37 megacities, which each hold at least 10 million people. Via weforum.org & visualcapitalist.com

1. Hawaiian Moist Forests 2. South Florida Rocklands 3. Puerto Rican Moist Forests (not shown, major part of the island) 4. Hawaiian Dry Forests 5. Puerto Rican Moist Forests (not shown, southern edge of the island) 6. Willamette Valley Forests 7. Western Great lakes Forests 8. Eastern Forest/Boreal Transition 9. Upper Midwest Forest/Savanna Transition Zone 10. Southern Great Lakes Forests 11. Eastern Great Lakes Lowland Forests 12. New England/Acadian Forests 13. Gulf of St. Lawrence Lowland Forests 14. Northeastern Coastal Forests 15. Allegheny Highlands Forests 16. Appalachian/Blue Ridge Forests 17. Appalachian Mixed Mesophytic Forests 18. Central U.S. Hardwood Forests 19. Ozark Mountain Forests 20. Mississippi Lowland Forests 21. East Central Texas Forests 22. Southeastern Mixed Forests 23. Northern Pacific Coastal Forests 24. Queen Charlotte Islands 25. Central British Columbia Mountain Forests 26. Alberta Mountain Forests 27. Fraser Plateau and Basin Complex 28. Northern Trans...

The interctive map includes a number of different weather layers (temperature, precipitation and wind speed) which allow you to view a seven day forecast. Related post:  - Wind, Rain and Temperature Animated Maps

As of march 2016 the number of humans alive in the world is that 7.4 billion people, but what if every single last one of us everybody watching this video including you all lived together in the same city. How big or small with this city look like and how close together would we all have to live?   60-percent of us live in Asia while 16-percent live, in Africa ten percent, in Europe eight percent, in North America 5.5 percent, in South America just 0.5 percent, in Australia and Oceania and two little people to even register on the scale in Antarctica. So first off we would have to agree on which continent or island we would migrate everybody in the world to. 50.5 percent of everybody in the world currently lives in a city, so we would have to convince the other 49.5 percent of people to come and join us. So now assuming that we have gathered everybody together in the same place to create our city. Let's look at some real life examples to see what living so close together ...

Chromium-6 threatens two-thirds of Americans. 200+ million americans in all 50 states have contaminated water. From 2013 to 2015, utilities took more than 60,000 samples of drinking water and found chromium-6 in more than 75 percent of them. The tests found chromium-6 in almost 90 percent of the water systems sampled. Oklahoma, Arizona and California had the highest average statewide levels. California health goal limit on Chromium-6 in tap water - 0.02 parts per billion, legal limit on Chromium-6 in tap water - 10 parts per billion. A two-year study by the National Toxicology Program (2008) found that drinking water with chromium-6, or hexavalent chromium, caused cancer in laboratory rats and mice.  In 2010, scientists at the respected and influential California Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment concluded that ingestion of tiny amounts of chromium-6 can cause cancer in people, a conclusion affirmed by state scientists in New Jersey and North Caroli...

Fossil fuels supplied 99% of German energy in 1965, 89% in 1990 and 79.7% in 2015. Renewables supplied around a third of German electricity in 2015. Wind was the top renewable energy source in 2015, supplying 46% of renewables’ share. Biomass supplied 26% and solar 20%, with 10% from hydro. Renewables have grown rapidly from a low starting point, with wind more than doubling since 2005 and solar tripling. Distribution of electricity generating capacity in Germany Total: 191,153 MW Renewables total: 101,701 MW Via carbonbrief.org

The interactive map of real-time sensors allows anyone to access real-time information about current weather conditions throughout the Arctic region.

Size isn't always a factor when it comes to friends in Myrtle Beach South Carolina. An orangutang has become a surrogate to a bunch of tiger cubs.

Hundreds of millions of people depend on the ocean for their livelihoods and many more rely on the ocean for food. However, the world’s oceans are threatened by global overfishing, illegal fishing and habitat destruction. Their sustainability depends on action by governments, fishery management organizations, citizens and the fishing industry itself. This public beta version of Global Fishing Watch is available to anyone with an Internet connection and allows users to monitor when and where commercial fishingicon info is occurring around the world. Global Fishing Watch uses data about a vessel’s identity, type, location, speed, direction and more that is broadcast using the Automatic Identification System (AIS) and collected via satellites and terrestrial receivers. AIS was developed for safety/collision-avoidance. Global Fishing Watch analyzes AIS data collected from vessels that our research has identified as known or possible commercial fishingicon info vessels, and applies a fi...

Arctic sea ice levels (1978 - 2016) On September 10, Arctic sea ice extent stood at 4.14 million square kilometers. This appears to have been the lowest extent of the year and is tied with 2007 as the second lowest extent on record. This year’s minimum extent is 750,000 square kilometers above the record low set in 2012 and is well below the two standard deviation range for the 37-year satellite record. Satellite data show extensive areas of open water in the Beaufort and Chukchi seas, and in the Laptev and East Siberian seas. An analysis by Claire Parkinson and Nicolo DiGirolamo of NASA Goddard ranked 37 years of monthly sea ice extents in the Arctic and Antarctic. They found that there has not been a record high in Arctic sea ice extent in any month since 1986. During that same period, there have been 75 new record lows. That pattern is reflected in the graph below. Via nsidc.org & earthobservatory

Via etsy.com

The featured Urban Cedar Cabin: 14' X 25' Tiny house was built by Dave Bates. House models can be seen in Idaho and Spirit Lake.

NHALE is the first community air monitoring project in Canada. Jointly led by Environment Hamilton and Toronto Environmental Alliance with funding from Metcalf Foundation, this project puts local air quality monitoring into the hands of community members. Read more about the project. Local Community Air Tracker volunteers are gathering data on fine particulate matter (PM 2.5) using easy-to-operate mobile air particulate monitoring equipment that can be attached to backpacks, bikes, baby strollers, walkers or scooters. This data is being mapped out here so it is easily accessible to the entire community. Reading the map Coloured squares: The air quality samples gathered by INHALE volunteers are clustered and displayed on the map as squares. Colours are based on an average of the samples collected in a particular area. The colours range from green to dark red, indicating low to high particulate levels measured in the a.. ir. As more samples are collected, areas with chronicall...

August 2016's temperature was 0.16 degrees Celsius warmer than the previous warmest August in 2014. Last month also was 0.98 degrees Celsius warmer than the mean August temperature from 1951-1980. Via nasa.gov

Record high annual mean surface temperatures (2015) Since 1955, more than 90 percent of the excess heat retained by the Earth as a result of increased greenhouse gases has been absorbed by the oceans. Estimated heat accumulation For several decades, more energy has been absorbed than emitted at the top of Earth’s atmosphere. According to Gregory Johnson, an oceanographer at NOAA, the rate of energy gained between 1971 and 2010 was roughly equal to the power required to run 140 billion 1,500-watt hair dryers over the same number of years. The rate has only increased in the past decade. Via nytimes.com

What would the world look like if the oceans started draining? Draining planet's oceans, revealing the 2/3 of Earth's surface, we don't get to see.

Northern Virginia solar energy map Project Sunroof

Ocean pollution levels Benjamin Hennig Ocean pollution levels Benjamin Hennig Destructive fishing levels Benjamin Hennig Via geographical.co.uk

The 2016 Fall Foliage Map is the ultimate visual planning guide to the annual progressive changing of the leaves. While no tool can be 100% accurate, this tool is meant to help travelers better time their trips to have the best opportunity of catching peak color each year. Via smokymountains.com

Change in the Distribution of Wilderness and Globally Significant Wilderness Areas since the Early 1990s Globally significant wilderness areas are defined as wilderness areas >10,000 km2. The insets are focused on the Amazon (A), the western Sahara (B), the West Siberian taiga (C), and Borneo (D). We've lost roughly 1.2 million square miles of wilderness since the early 1990s, leaving 12 million square miles still intact. Via cell.com

Originaly it was a totally normal school bus, it had all the seats. Then this big yellow school bus was turned into loft on wheels.  

Seasonal geographical suitability for Zika virus transmission in Africa and seasonal volume of airline travellers arriving from the Americas Monthly maps are shown for Africa. Travellers arriving from the Americas refers to travellers originating from regions of Latin America and the Caribbean that are suitable for year-round transmission of Zika virus. Seasonal geographical suitability for Zika virus transmission in Asia-Pacific and seasonal volume of airline travellers arriving from the Americas Monthly maps are shown for Asia-Pacific region. Travellers arriving from the Americas refers to travellers originating from regions of Latin America and the Caribbean that are suitable for year-round transmission of Zika virus.  Via thelancet.com Related posts: - Ideal conditions for mosquitoes that can carry the Zika virus un the U.S. - Where there's active Zika transmission - Which U.S. cities are at risk for a Zika outbreak?

Related post: - USGS Earthquake Forecast Maps Now Include Human-Induced Earthquakes

Via www.vividmaps.com Related post: -  Obesity prevalence in the United States (2004 - 2013)

Dolphins play a role in our health, warning us of dangerous levels of mercury in the fish and shellfish we eat. A study from Gregory D. Bossart, John S. Reif and Adam M. Schaefer at Georgia Aquarium, Colorado State University and Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute reveals dolphins are "canaries in the coal mine" when it comes to detecting our oceans' problems. Protect yourself from Mercury - Eat 8 or more ounces of seafood per week for overall health. - If you are pregnant, eat at least 8 ounces and up to 12 ounces of seafood per week. - Choose lower-mercury fish and shellfish including shrimp, pollock, salmon, canned light tuna, tilapia, catfish and cod. - If you are pregnant or breastfeeding, avoid eating shark, swordfish, king mackerel, and tilefish from the Gulf of Mexico, and limit consumption of white (albacore) tuna to 6 ounces a week. - Check your state's fish consumption advisories to learn which sources of local seafood may be unsafe.

Even in rush hour, you could cycle for hours on end in London and improve you health with every pedal stroke. In the most polluted cities in the world, as little as half an hour`s cycling does more harm to you through pollution than in does you good through exercise. Via ig.ft.com