The 46th Earth Day
By Carol Baroudi
If Earth Day were human, it might be suffering a midlife crisis. “I’m 46 years old and what can I say about my life?” Sure there’s a growing environmental movement and Earth Day is celebrated in 192 countries, but is the Earth really any better off than it was 46 years ago? Like any 40-something facing an annual physical when leading a somewhat decadent lifestyle, Earth Day might not really want to look at the numbers.
| 1970 | 2015 | |
| Average Temperature of U.S. | Earth Day baseline 1970 |
Of the lower 48 states, 26 have warmed more than 2°F since 1970, and 16 have warmed more than 2.5°F. |
| Global Population | 3.7 billion | |
| Ocean Acidification |
The pH of the world’s ocean has dropped about 0.1 pH units over the past several decades. (Roughly 25% more acidic.) |
|
| Concentration of CO2 in the Atmosphere | 325.99 | |
| Unique Species | Estimates range from 2 million to 100 million different species co-existing with us on our planet. But the extinction rate cuts across the board. | The rapid loss of species we are seeing today is estimated by experts to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. |
Numbers like these should be a wake up call. What’s recommended here is a radical change in lifestyle. So if you’re serious about the health of the Earth, make a plan about how you can make positive efforts. Don’t let this Earth Day go by without really taking stock and putting a concrete program in place. Don’t know where to start? Drop me a line at cbaroudi@arrow.com and we can talk about it.
Here in Arrow’s Value Recovery Business, we’re very concerned with electronics and the environment.
