Data Visualization

Blog of the Data Visualization & Communication Course at OSB-AUB

This is my favorite part about analytics: Taking boring flat data and bringing it to life through visualization” John Tukey

The impact of CO2 emission on Global Warming

The impact of CO2 emission on Global Warming

Antarctica has been suffering for years due to the high CO2 emission levels around the globe.

I have brought an expert that would be able to shed light on the matter based on personal experience and what he and his family have been witnessing for the past decades.

Please help me in welcoming Frosty the Penguin!

Frosty was born and raised in Antarctica by a family of scientists.

His grandfather was among the first penguins to witness the melting of glaciers and the family kept records of changes that have occurred throughout the years in Antarctica.

While growing up, his surroundings were changing rapidly due to higher temperatures.

The sled that he used to play at with his penguin friends has turned into water; friends from other species have already left, or even died at sea.

Today Carbon Dioxide levels are rising rapidly from 400mg/L in 2019, to 409mg/L in 2020 to reach 420mg/L in 2021 due to the burning of fossil fuels, industrial processes, and tropical forest destruction.

As a result, Glaciers are rapidly melting and Frosty is facing the danger of migration or even death.

CO2 emission in 1980 started increasing drastically in countries like China going from 1.5 gigatons of CO2 to a record high of 11 gigatons in 2017!

Also, countries like Indonesia have witnessed a consistent increase in emissions while we see that Germany in gypsy blue has seen a drop in their emissions despite being the number 1 producer in Europe; they must be doing something right.

Based on his recent study in 2018, countries like USA, Canada, Russia, Australia and China are among the highest emitting countries of CO2 compared to the European Continent (excluding Russia), the African continent and South America.

For Frosty, this means that the sea ice extent which represents the area of ocean where at least 15 percent of the surface is frozen has been shrinking especially in recent years due to our negligence.

However, it is still not too late to help Frosty have his home back!!

To decrease the level of CO2 emissions, many solutions are available such as:

  • Substituting car trips with bike rides or any form of public transportation.
  • Apply Emission Regulations on automobiles
  • Plant trees
  • Switch to Clean Energy

All of these solutions are easily implemented through deploying bicycles for rent off the streets, Carpooling or using Hybrid/Electric Cars as well as renewable energy.

The cheapest and considered to be one of the most efficient ways of reducing CO2 emission is planting trees to absorb and store the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

We can see these reforms being applied mostly in the European continent, Eastern and Western, which lead to the decrease in the level of CO2 from 1990 till 2018 as per the World Map visualization.

We urge countries to follow the steps of Europe and ameliorate their CO2 emissions by planting trees, adopting renewable energy and encouraging people to use lower emitting means of transportation