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Lost Eight Years by the Numbers

Over the last eight years, global warming took its toll on the world.

While climate scientists confirmed that it is undoubtedly a man-made phenomenon and predicted its disastrous future effects, the Bush Administration worked with various members of U.S. industry to bury this evidence and block action.

Check out our 10 Facts About the Lost Eight Years to learn more.

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150,000

The number of people who died in 2000 due to debilitating diseases caused by climate change in 2000, according to a 2003 study by the World Health Organization.

20 billion

The net tons of water oceans gain each year through melting glaciers and ice caps, according to a 2006 study by NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center.

1,260

Square miles in area of the Larsen B ice shelf that collapsed off the Antarctic Peninsula in 2002 – this area is roughly the size of Rhode Island.

2050

Year by which polar bears could be at or near extinction according to the U.S. Geological Survey in conjunction with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

4.5 feet

The amount the seas could rise by the end of the century, according to scientists at the University of Arizona.

928

Number of peer reviewed papers used in a study that found there were no serious challenges to the global warming consensus that the phenomena was real and largely man made.

385 ppm

The concentration of CO₂ in the earth's atmosphere in 2008 - the highest level in at least the past 800,000 years and 37% higher than CO₂ concentrations at the start of the Industrial Revolution.

$200 billion

The amount of economic losses resulting from the intensity of climate change through the year 2005, according to the reinsurance company Munich Re.

0

Number of global warming bills passed by the Senate.

0

Number of global warming bills passed by the House.

Sources:

McMichael, Anthony J., ed. Climate Change and Human Health: Risks and Responses. World Health Organization. 2003.
"NASA Finds Arctic Replenished Very Little Thick Sea Ice in 2005." The Earth Observer. Volume 19, Issue 3. May/June 2007.
National Snow and Ice Data Center. “Larsen B Ice Shelf Collapses in Antarctica.” March 18, 2002.
Roach, John. "Most Polar Bears Gone By 2050, Studies Say." National Geographic News. September 10, 2007.
Borenstein, Seth. "Global warming's rising seas projected to overtake unique U.S. coastal spots in 100 years." Associated Press. September 22, 2007.
Oreskes, Naomi "Beyond the Ivory Tower: The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change" for Science December 4, 2004.
Hansen, James. "Twenty Years Later: Tipping Points Near on Global Warming." The Huffington Post, June 23, 2008.
Faust, Ebhard. "Climate Change impact on the (re-) Insurance Industry and Munich Re's Response." Global Roundtable on Climate Change Session II at Columbia University. November 14-15, 2005.