Views on global warming

National Journal has released a new poll which surveyed 113 members of Congress about their views on global warming. The results were unbelievable. Although many scientific evidence concluded that human activities are responsible for much of the recent warming, only 13% of congressional Republicans say they believe that human activity is causing global warming, compared to 95% of congressional Democrats.

Well, man sees what he wants to see and disregards the rest.

The Miniature Earth Project

If we could turn the population of the earth into a small community of 100 people, keeping the same proportions we have today, it would look something like this ...
1) 47 live in an urban area;
2) 61 Asians, 12 Europeans, 16 Africans;
3) 9 are disabled;

4) 33 Christian, 18 Muslins, 16 are non-religious;

5) 6 people own 59% of entire wealth of the community;

6) if you have a bank account, you are one of the 30 wealthiest people in the world;

7) this community spend more than $1.12 trillion dollars on military expenditures, but only $0.1 trillion dollars on development aid.

......
See more at: The Miniature Earth Project

Do we need 2 Earths ?

Globally, humans are consuming resources at an unprecedented rate, far beyond Earth's capacity to support them. If this trend continues, according to a recent report from World Wildlife Fund (WWF), humanity will need 2 Earths' worth of natural resources by 2050; and "if everyone around the world lived as those in America, we would need 5 planets to support us".

U.S. population - there is less elbowroom

Sometime next month, Oct. 2006, the Census Bureau predicts, the U.S. population will top 300 million. That's nearly double the number of people who called this country home just 50 years ago. Experts see the population approaching 400 million by 2040.

Humans spur worst extinctions since end of dinosaurs

According to the "Global Biodiversity Outlook 2", a report released by the United Nation's Convention on Biological Diversity, we humans are currently responsible for the 6th major extinction event in the history of the Earth, and the greatest since the dinosaurs disappeared, 65 million years ago. The other four extinctions were about 205, 250, 375 and 440 million years ago. Scientists suspect that asteroid strikes, volcanic eruptions or sudden climate shifts may explain the five.

It estimated the current pace of extinctions was 1,000 times faster than historical rates. Other conclusions in this report:

1) 2/3 of the services provided by nature to humankind are in decline, worldwide;

2) demand for resources globally exceeds the biological capacity of the Earth by some 20%;
3) the average abundance of species declined 40% between 1970 and 2000 while species in species in rivers, lakes and marshlands have declined by 50%.

World population hit 6.5 billion today

Today, Saturday, Feb. 25 of 2006, the population here on this good Earth is projected to hit 6.5 billion people, roughly double its size in 1960. Some six years from now, on Oct. 18, 2012, the Earth will be home to 7 billion folks. When last estimated in 2002, there were 261 people born every minute.

How long does it take for trash to biodegrade ?

Many household trash take much longer to biodegrade than you thought. In general, organic waste tend to decompose quickly in landfills, but if they are overly compressed, like plastic bottle or bags which seal out oxygen and soil microbes, then they are even tougher than inorganic materials.
How long does it take for trash to biodegrade ?
Plastic soda bottles ............ forever
Glass bottles ............ 1 million years
Batteries ............ 100 years
Aluminum + tin cans ............ 50 to 100 years
Plastic bags ............ 10 to 20 years
Orange peel ............ 6 months
Paper ............ 2 to 5 months

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