TROPICAL RAINFORESTS: Disappearing Opportunities  Home  What's New  About  Contribute  Submissions  Rainforests    Mission    Introduction    Characteristics    Biodiversity    The Canopy    Forest Floor    Forest Waters    Indigenous People    Deforestation    Consequences    Saving Rainforests    Amazon rainforest    Borneo rainforest    Congo rainforest    Country Profiles    Statistics    Works Cited    For Kids    For Teachers    Photos/Images    Expert Interviews    Rainforest News    XML Feeds    Chinese    French    Japanese    Spanish    Other Languages  Pictures  Books  Links  Newsletter  Education  Mongabay Sites    Kids' site    Travel Tips    Tropical Fish    Madagascar  Contact About this site Providing tropical forest news, statistics, photos, and information, rainforests.mongabay.com is the world's most popular rainforest site. [more] Carbon Dioxide Emissions Charts, 2005 Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Country, 1990-2025 Click to enlarge The Energy Information Administration expects China's carbon dioxide emissions to surpass those of the United States sometime around 2020. After China and the United States, among major polluters only India is expected to have significant growth of emissions over the next 20 years. Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Market, 1990-2025 Click to enlarge Emerging markets will have the largest growth in CO2 emissions over the next twenty years according to the Energy Information Administration's Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004. Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Region, 1990-2025 Click to enlarge Led by China and India, carbon dioxide emissions are expected to surge in Asia over the next twenty years according to the Energy Information Administration's Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004. EIA projections show a leveling off of carbon dioxide emissions in other regions, except for North America where CO2 emissions will continue to increase at a steady rate. U.S. Energy Use by End-Use Sector, 2004 Click to enlarge In the United States most energy use goes towards transportation according to the Energy Information Administration's Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004. U.S. Energy Consumption, 2004 Click to enlarge Renewable energy makes up less than one percent of energy consumption in the United States according to the Energy Information Administration's Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004. Carbon Dioxide Emissions by Country, 1990-2025 Click to enlarge Despite high energy prices, the share of renewable energy used in the United States have fallen since peaking in 2002 according to the Energy Information Administration's Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 2004. Global carbon dioxide concentrations with anthropogenic emissions, 1748-2002 Click to enlarge Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have risen sharply since the Industrial Revolution. Source: Marland, G., T.A. Boden, and R. J. Andres. 2005. Global, Regional, and National CO2 Emissions. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A. Atmospheric CO2 Record from Mauna Loa, 1958-2004 Click to enlarge Atmospheric CO2 concentrations (ppmv), 1958-2004, derived from in situ air samples collected at Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii Source: C.D. Keeling, T.P. Whorf, and the Carbon Dioxide Research Group at the Scripps Institution of Oceanography (SIO), University of California, La Jolla, California USA 92093-0444 Mean time to reach equilibrium for CO2 concentration, temperature, and sea level Click to enlarge Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) graph showing that CO2 concentration, temperature, and sea level continue to rise long after emissions are reduced. Image courtesy of the IPCC.. Variation of Earth's Surface Temperature, 1000-2000 and 1860-2000 Click to enlarge Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) graph showing that surface temperatures for the past 140 years (global) and the past 1000 years (Northern Hemisphere). Continued: Local Impact of Deforestation Unless otherwise specified, this article was written by Rhett A. Butler [Bibliographic citation for this page] Other pages in this section: Consequences of Deforestation Erosion Loss of Renewable Resources Atmospheric Role - - - - - References References References References References Local Climate Regulation Loss of Species, Disease Climactic Role Extinction - - - - - Kids version of this section - Why are rainforests important? - Climate - Home to wildlife - Water cycle - Erosion control - Extinction what's new | rainforests home | for kids | help | madagascar | search | about | languages | contact Copyright Rhett Butler 1994-2007 "Rainforest" is used interchangeably with "rain forest" on this site. Same for "rainforests" and "rain forests". "Jungle" is generally not used.

Recent news Amazon deforestation rate falls to lowest on record (8/10/2007) Deforestation rates in the Brazilian Amazon for the previous year were the lowest on record, according to preliminary figures released by INPE, Brazil's National Institute of Space Research. Lowland rainforest less diverse than previously thought (8/9/2007) While rainforests are the world's libraries of biodiversity, species richness may be more evenly distributed in some forests than in others, reports an extensive new study by an international team of entomologists and botanists. The work, published in the current issue of the journal Nature, has important implications for forest management and conservation strategies. Experts: parks effectively protect rainforest in Peru (8/9/2007) High-resolution satellite monitoring of the Amazon rainforest in Peru shows that land-use and conservation policies have had a measurable impact on deforestation rates. The research is published in the August 9, 2007, on-line edition of Science Express. More rainforest news