Since 1750, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide has increased by about 32% (from about 280 to 376 parts per million in 2003), primarily due to the combustion of fossil fuels and land use changes. Approximately 60% of that increase (60 parts per million) has taken place since 1959.
Data: Millennium Ecosystem Assessment, 2005. Ecosystems and Human Well-being: Synthesis.
Island Press, Washington, DC.
Between the early 1980′s and 2000, most States conducted annual bald eagle surveys. Since then, many states recognized that annual surveys were no longer necessary. That is why you will not see annual data after 2000. On August 9, 2007, the bald eagle was removed from the federal list of threatened and endangered species.
General Statistics for Endangered Species current as of October 15, 2009
How many species in the United States are listed as threatened or endangered?
614 U.S. animal species are listed.
747 U.S. plant species are listed.
How many species in the United States are proposed for listing as threatened or endangered?
18 U.S. animal species are currently proposed for listing.
46 U.S. plant species are currently proposed for listing.
How many listed species have designated critical habitat?
539 U.S. species have designated critical habitat.
How many candidate species are there?
138 animal species are candidates for listing.
110 plant species are candidates for listing.
How many habitat conservation plans (HCPs) have been approved?
1017 habitat conservation plans have been approved (849 current, 168 expired).
How many listed species have approved recovery plans?
1134 species have approved recovery plans.
Have you heard of The Penguin Project? Neither had I until I had the opportunity to attend the Wildlife Conservation Expo in San Francisco on October 3rd. Well, The Penguin Sentinels (formerly the Penguin project) has been established to protect and study the largest Magellanic penguin colony in the world. And for the last 25 years that is exactly what they have been doing. Here are the numbers from 1983-2008:
A total of 56,289 penguins banded
-42,137 chicks, 2,194 resighted
25,472 eggs measured
174,019 chick measurements
-56,568 individual chicks
443 satellite tags deployed
1,838 books of data
2,358,205 records
Check out The Penguin Sentinels great website!
-The human population quadrupled during the 20th century, increasing from about 1.5 billion in 1900 to about 6.8 billion in 2009
-This explosive population growth reached a peak of 2.1% growth rate in the late 1960s, the most significant demographic process since the beginning of the industrial revolution.
-The world population is expected to reach 9.1 billion in 2050 and to be increasing by about 33 million persons annually at that time.
-The population growth of the 49 least developed countries is still the fastest growing in the world, at 2.3% per year.
-During 2010-2050, nine countries are expected to account for half of the world’s projected population increase: India, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, the United States, the Democratic Republic of Congo, the United Republic of Tanzania, China andBangladesh, listed according to the size of their contribution to global population growth.
-Globally, life expectancy at birth is projected to rise from 68 years in 2005-2010 to 76 years in 2045-2050.
-In terms of annual averages, the major net receivers of international migrants during 2010-2050 are projected to be the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Spain, Italy, Germany, Australia and France.
-The number of cities of one million or larger was 76 in 1950, 522 in 1975, 1,122 in 2000, and is set to exceed 1,600 by 2015. Using current population projections to 2050, most of the forthcoming growth in population will be in cities, with poor countries having “to build the equivalent of a city of one million people each week for the next 45 years” (Cohen, 2005).
References:
United Nations – Department of Economic and Social Affairs
Cohen, J.E. 2005. Human Population Grows Up. Scientific American Sept 2005: 48-55.
McNeely, J.A. and Mainka, S.A. 2009. Conservation for a New Era. IUCN, Gland, Switzerland. 220 pp.
Whaling data by scientific permit, aboriginal catches, and whales taken under objection by the International Whaling Commission from 1985-2007
For more information check out Thriving Oceans and “Whaling under the guise of science”
Biologist, wildlife advocate, conservationist and simply captivated by marine life. Currently working to complete a full life's circle balancing work, life and a desire to spark worldwide wildlife preservation...and now bringing you the numbers and stats about our planet and its inhabitants. That's me, so check out the site and take a peek at "About The Site" page.
