Second last pieces of knowledge.

Grab them while you can

So, turns out, this is my second last day. Hope you’re used to it by now. And then I’ll stop. And it will feel so weird. :) Here we go.

• Over 40% of all tropical forests have been destroyed and another acre is lost each second.
• Each year, humankind adds six to eight billion tons of carbon to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and destroying forest, pumping up the concentration of greenhouse gases responsible for global warming- an effect that could raise temperatures by three to ten degrees by the year 2050.
• While the U.S. makes up only 5% of the world’s population, we produce 72% of all hazardous waste and consumer 33% of the world’s paper.
• Worldwide, thousands of pounds of plutonium (hey! I’ve heard that word before... oh right, on Scooby Doo 2 Monsters Unleashed. It’s a good movie. You guys should see it sometime :D) are being produced, used and stored under conditions of inadequate security. Using current technology, only two pounds of plutonium is required to make a nuclear device.
• The annual catch in 13 of the world’s 15 major fishing zones has declined and in four of those - three in the Atlantic and one in the Pacific oceans- the catch has shrunk by a startling 30%.
• Mining companies are allowed to buy our public lands for less than five dollars an acre- any they pay no royalties on he gold and other minerals they extract. This taxpayer giveaway, combined with the cost of massive environmental  damage and cleanup, amounts to a billion dollars a year.
• Grazing has led to soil erosion, watershed destruction and ruin of wildlife habitat on millions of acres of our public lands. Taxpayers subsidized grazing fees with $1.8 billion during the years 1985- 1992.
• In many urban areas, children are steadily exposed to high levels of air pollutants, increasing the risk of chronic lung disease, cell damage and respiratory illness.
• Dioxin and other persistent pollutants that are released into the air accumulate in our waterways, wildlife, food supply and human blood-streams. These poisons may cause cancer and reproductive disorders in human beings and other animal species.
• Millions of pounds of toxic chemicals, like lead, mercury and pesticides, pour into our waterways each year contaminating wildlife, seafood and drinking water.
• One-half of our nation’s lakes and one-third of our rivers are too polluted to be completely safe for swimming or fishing.
• Raw sewage, poison runoff and other pollution have caused 8,000 beach closures or advisories over the past 5 years
• All but one species of the magnificent ocean-going salmon in the Pacific Northwest face a growing risk of extinction throughout most of their range, due to habitat degradation and over fishing.

So I really hope you are enjoying/enjoyed these facts. Only one day to go, until we don’t have to do this anymore. Get excited. :) I’ll make tomorrow’s blog super special, since it is my last one. I really hope you enjoy it.

Until next time, stay green.  

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