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50 Essential Facts About the Environment

The 50 facts that you MUST know on your way to becoming an environment expert!

There is more carbon dioxide in the air than ever before in human history	Climate change
From 2030-2050, climate change will cause 250,000 deaths a year
If not stopped, global temperatures may reach tipping point in 2030
The 20 warmest years on record were all since 1997
Indonesia is moving its capital city because of climate change
15 billion batteries a year end up in landfill sites	Recycling
9.5 million tonnes of food and drink is thrown away every year in the UK
Every tonne of paper recycled saves 17 trees
Only 75% of aluminium drink cans are recycled in the UK
There is no limit to the amount of times glass can be recycled
One wind turbine can generate enough electricity to power 1,400 homes	Clean energy
Just over a third of the UK's energy comes from renewable sources
Solar panels on the moon could supply all of the energy we need
Hydropower currently produces around 17% of the world’s electricity
The US generates the most geothermal energy
A 5-minute shower uses about 50 litres of water	Sustainability
A bath can use up to 180 litres of water
Agricultural emissions could be reduced by 70% if we all became vegan
Mobile phones contain 30 times more gold per gram than gold ore
Batteries produce 50 times less energy than they take to make
80% of ocean pollution comes from the land	Ocean pollution
There is more plastic in our oceans than stars in our galaxy
Every year, 100,000 sea mammals are killed by ocean pollution
There is six times as much plastic in the oceans than there is plankton
Noise pollution from ships causes cellular damage to invertebrates
Air pollution causes 36,000 deaths in the UK a year	Air pollution
Diesel exhaust fumes cause cancer
Having plants inside your home helps to reduce air pollutants
92% of us live in places where air pollution exceeds safe limits
Air pollution kills more people than smoking does
An area of foret the size of a football pitch is cut down every second	Deforestation
If deforestation continues at current rates, they will be gone in 100 years
Most forest is cut down to make way for farms
Half the word's plants and animals live in rainforests
The Amazon rainforest produces 6% of the world's oxygen
There are several hundred international environmental agreements	Treaties
The Montreal Protocol was finalised in 1987 to protect the ozone layer
The Madrid Protocal makes Antarctica a natural reserve
2nd worst polluter, the US, withdrew from the Paris Climate Agreement
Japan, Iceland and Norway all hunt whales despite its ban in 1986
Rachel Carson highlighted the dangers of chemical pollution in 1962	Activists
James Lovelock came up with his Gaia Theory in the 1960s
Jane Goodall is famous for her work to conserve wild chimpanzees
Greta Thunberg is known for leading protests against global warming
Extinction Rebellion makes non-violent protest against climate change
Populations of vertebrates have more than halved since 1970	Extinction
Species are dying off 1,000 faster than they did before humans arrived
50% of species may be extinct by the end of the century
40% of amphibians are in danger of extinction
Humans are causing a 6th mass extinction. Dinosaurs died in the 5th