The State of the Planet
By Laura Bradford and Andrea Dorfman
Trouble Spots From depleted forests to dying reefs, distress signals dot the globe. Even in the U.S., with its relatively clean environment, excessive carbon emissions fuel global warming
Carbon emissions The U.S. produces more greenhouse gasses than any other country--and by far the most per person
Deforestation Burning of forests to create cropland and unregulated timber harvesting have destroyed more than 15% of the Amazon in only 30 years
Antarctic warming Since 1945 the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced a warming of about 4.5[degrees]F (2.5[degrees]C). The annual melt season has increased by 2 to 3 weeks in just the past 20 years
Thinning ice The melting is a result of global warming, which could lead to rising sea levels and more severe storms and droughts
Drought Severe food shortages caused by two years of drought may kill as many as 300,000 people in southern Africa in the next six months, according to the U.N. Countries hardest hit include Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique
Overpopulation If India does not curtail population growth, by 2050 it will surpass China as the most populous nation, with a projected 1.5 billion people
Threatened reefs As much as 86% of Indonesia's coral reefs, home to thousands of marine species, are severely damaged by overfishing, sedimentation and pollution
Carbon-dioxide emissions from the consumption and flaring of fossil fuels (in billions of metric tons)
North America 1980 1.48 2000 1.83
Central and South America 1980 0.17 2000 0.27
Western Europe 1980 1.02 2000 1.00
Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union 1980 1.14 2000 0.84
Middle East 1980 0.14 2000 0.29
Asia and Oceania 1980 0.97 2000 1.97
Arctic sea-ice thickness
1958-76 average 9.8ft. (3 m)
1993-97 average 5.6 ft. (1.7 m)
Urban areas with more than 10 million people
Los Angeles 13.1 million
Mexico City 18.1 million
New York 16.6 million
Rio de Janeiro 10.6 million
Sao Paulo 17.8 million
Buenos Aires 12.6 million
Lagos, Nigeria 13.4 million
Cairo, Egypt 10.6 million
Karachi, Pakistan 11.8 million
Delhi India 11.7 million
Mumbai (Bombay), India 18.1 million
Dhaka, Bangladesh 12.3 million
Calcutta, India 12.9 million
Jakarta, Indonesia 11 million
Beijing, China 10.8 million
Shanghai China 17 million
Manila, Philippines 10.9 million
Osaka, Japan 11 million
Tokyo, Japan 26.4 million
Sources for map Land use: NASA/Boston University department of Geography; urbanization: NASA Visible Earth City Lights; U.N. Population Fund, 2000; Amazon deforestation: ActGlobal.org/Instituto Socioambiental; coral reefs: World Resources Institute: Reefs at Risk; carbon-dioxide emissions: Energy information Administration; trouble spots: AP; U.N. Environment Program, Global Warming Early Warning Signs 1999; World Resources Institute
FOOD
Hunger continues to plague poorer countries, especially in Africa, as badly managed agriculture leads to soil salinization and degradation
Percentage of population undernourished, 1997-99
All developing regions 18% Asia, Pacific* 20% Latin America, Caribbean 11% Near East, North Africa 9 %
All sub-Saharan Africa 34% Central Africa 51% East Africa 43% Southern Africa 43% West Africa 15%
*Excludes China
Extent and causes of land degradation, 1996 in millions of square kilometers
Overgrazing 6.7 Deforestation 5.7 Agricultural mismanagement 5.4 Fuel consumption 1.4 Industry and urbanization 0.2
WATER
As more of the limited amount of fresh water is used each year, unequal access to supplies could produce competition and conflicts among nations
Annual global freshwater withdrawals Cubic kilometers per year
'70 574 '80 3,200 '00 3,940
Freshwater resources Per capita, by subregion Average annual cubic meters
Regions with the most and least water resources
Oceania 53,711 South America 36,988 Middle Africa 20,889 North America 16,801 Eastern Europe 14,818
Western Europe 2,215 Western Asia 1,771
Water-stressed countries have less than 1,700 cubic meters per person per year
South Central Asia 1,465 Southern Africa 1,289 Northern Africa 495
BIODIVERSITY
Destruction of forests has helped cause the worst spasm of extinctions since the dinosaurs were wiped out 65 million years ago
Forest loss by region Percentage change 1990-2000
Europe +0.84% Asia -0.67% North and Cent. America -1.04% Oceania -1.85%
Total World -2.43% South America -4.19% Africa -8.01%
Wildlife under pressure Percentage of species threatened, 1996
Birds 11% Vascular plants 12.5% Reptiles 20% Mammals 25% Amphibians 25% Fish 34%
POPULATION/HEALTH
Life expectancy is increasing except in Africa, where AIDS and other infectious diseases have taken a toll. Lower birth rates will start to level the global population by mid-century
Life expectancy at birth 1995-2000 Northern America 76.7 Oceania 73.5 Europe 73.2 Lat. Amer., Carib. 69.3 Asia 65.8 Africa 51.4
CLIMATE/ENERGY
The phaseout of chemicals called chloroflurocarbons will help reduce the hole in the ozone layer, right, but the continued burning of fossil fuels will lead to hotter times in the future
Sources of energy supply worldwide
Oil 1973 45% 1999 35%
Coal 1973 24.9% 1999 23.5%
Natural gas 1973 16.2% 1999 20.7%
Renewables 1973 11.1% 1999 11.1%
Hydroelectric 1973 1.8% 1999 2.3%
Nuclear 1973 0.9% 1999 6.8%
Other 1973 0.1% 1999 0.5%
Sources for charts Population: U.N. Population division ("Northern America" consists primarily of the U.S. and Canada. Central American countries are included in "Latin America, Caribbean"); State of the World 2002, Worldwatch Institute; climate; J. Hansen et al., Goddard Institute of Space Studies, "Global Land-Ocean Temperature Index in .01C" Worldwatch Publication: Vital Signs 2002; Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, 2001; International Energy Agency; Energy Information Administration; food: Food and Agricultural Organization of the U.N. (FAO); water: UNEP Global Environment Outlook 3, 2002; U.N. Population Division, 2000; biodiversity: Forest Resource Assessment 2000, FAO; IUCN/World Conservation Union; Orangutan Foundation International