Justin Gillis of the NY Times reported yesterday that global carbon emissions jumped 5.9 percent in 2010, the biggest increase ever recorded. This dashed any hopes that smaller increases during the Great Recession years were a sign humanity had somehow spontaneously and collectively adopted greener habits.
A couple quick facts from the report:
-- Coal consumption accounted for half the increase.
-- US emissions increased 4 percent, China 10.4 percent.
-- Developing countries accounted for 57 percent of the emissions, but emissions per person are much higher in developed nations.
Takeaway message: Don't count on economic trouble, or somebody else, to fix the climate change problem.
