Time-lapse history of human global CO2 emissions

Animated time-lapse video of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions in map form, spanning the 18th century until this current first decade of the 21st century. Shows the start in England and radiating to Europe, US and then Asia.

The video makes it easy to visualize the geographical distribution and trends in post industrial revolution anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions over 255 years.

Whether you are worried about the consequences of carbon pollution or a sceptic of global warming, you should take a look, since this data is based on recorded use of fossil fuels, gas flaring and cement production, but not land-use changes.

The majority of anthropogenic CO2 emissions are represented in this video by Robert W. Corkery using data from ORNL on a Nasa Blue Marble background image. Music copyright Robert W. Corkery 2007.

Postscript:
7 January 2010 - an updated version of this video now appears at the URL:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEMse2...

The updated version, showing the same amazing dynamics of the industrial revolution and CO2 emissions, has a corrected scale bar and does not clip the very highest emissions as it does in the original. Unfortunately for now, Youtube has no mechanism to update the video, so I hope you don't mind linking to the update. Again the new version is at:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEMse2...

• Category

  Science & Technology

[Flacksh0t]

It's animated you fucking idiot

[Christopher Brooke]

Yes blame the cows because they are breeding chaotically around the earth, well no not really, they don't know they are doing it, humans are breeding cows more and more these days.

[Rob Dennis]

co2 emission reduction is the way forward and wveryone has to get onboard for things to work.

[Ryan N]

wow you guys vidiotaped the earth for that long from space! dumbasses!

[01anig]

This was very interesting!

[1000frolly]

Since CO2 is not a main driver of climate, this small increase does not matter.

CO2 has been up to 2,000ppm and even 7,000ppm in the Earths past without noticably affecting the climate. Also, it is unlikely that we would be able to feed the Earths 7 billion+ people without the growing effects seen by the recent increase in CO2 concentration. Having a cheap source of energy has also brought us wealth and taken billions out of poverty. Releasing CO2 therefore, is wholly beneficial to our society.

[andygd8]

@drgreenmwdf if you put a plant in a seal environment containing only co2 then it wpuld also die. Plants need oxygen to respirate. Without oxygen, they cannot do that. The also do not create enough oxygen on their own by photosynthesis to provide all of their needs. Coal contains trace amounts of mercury. When burned in huge quantities this is released into the air...

[mphello]

It is pure arrogance to ignore the data and proven facts that humans are causing current global warming

but to instead pontificate that "it's arrogant to think humans can change the climate" because that's the easy thing for deniers to do: ignore the problem and not change their lifestyles.

They are mentally incapable of realizing how thin the atmosphere is.

We are NOT heating up the entire planet: just the atmosphere and oceans.

[mphello]

Great comment!

Conservative stupidity is colossal. They actually think billions of cows breed on their own and then commit suicide to make hamburgers.

[Alexis Rockman]

So Los Angeles County California was already emitting CO2s into he atmosphere back in the 1830's, before or greater than even NYC???

[Kaltwasser45]

In the areas of high co2 concentrations , there will be extensive plant growth? High co2 levels aren't destructive, they're quit the opposite. I have personally used co2 burners to encourage robust plant growth. These insane therioes get more entertaining by the day. The cows are doing double duty with their manure and with their gasses. When the dinasaurs romed, the co2 levels were as much as 10x's higher with vigorous plant life. There are sinister motives at work here.