A Somewhat Pessimistic View Of Climate Diplomacy By Eduardo Porter in The New York Times: In The 30

This graph shows greenhouse gas emissions from major point sources (power plants, industrial boilers) by state. It becomes clear immediately that Texas is a major outlier, representing far greater emissions than any other state. Indiana, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Louisiana, Illinois and Florida are other states with large emissions.

"Hotspot watersheds" with 10 or more at-risk fish and mussel species are concentrated in the Southeastern United States.  This reflects both the freshwater diversity of rivers and streams in this region, and the significant conservation threats.

Protecting Global Biodiversity Hotspots

Map 1: Biodiversity hotspot regions. Biodiversity hotspots are defined as areas "[h]aving at least 1500 endemic plant species and having lost at least 70 per cent of their original habitat extent".

Map 2: Conservation targets. The Convention on Biological Diversity is a multilateral treaty seeking to safeguard global biodiversity. One target calls for protected areas, formal designations of land protected for conservation, so cover 17% of earth’s land area. This Map highlights biodiversity hotspot regions where at least 17% of land area is formally protected (blue-green), and biodiversity hotspot regions where less than 17% is formally protected (red-orange).

Map 3: Protected areas. Formal protected areas are shaded green. Dark green areas are protected areas that allow for use of natural resources (i.e. protected forests where sustainable logging is permitted, or protected grasslands where livestock grazing is permitted). Light green are strict protected areas (i.e. nature reserves, national parks and monuments, wilderness areas). Areas shaded red are biodiversity hotspot regions.

Source: ATLAS for the END of the WORLD

The American Lung Association released its 2012 "State of the Air" report. Among their findings, they report that the air quality in many places has improved, but that over 127 million people—41 percent of the U.S.—still suffer pollution levels that are too often dangerous to breathe. The report includes this graph from EPA, showing that emissions of the six common air pollutants have fallen 59% since 1990 as a result of Clean Air Act regulations. These reductions have occurred even as population, energy consumption, vehicle miles traveled and GDP have increased, debunking the myth that environmental regulations hurt economic growth.

*The "six common pollutants" are fine particulate matter (PM2.5 and PM10), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen oxides (NOx), volatile organic compounds (VOCs), carbon monoxide (CO), and lead.

Predicted land change along the Louisiana coast over the next 50 years if we do nothing more than we have done to date. Red indicates areas likely to be lost, and green indicates areas of new land. This map is based on assumptions about increases in sea level rise, subsidence, and other factors.

The global rise in mean sea level is complicated in the Mississippi River Delta region by subsidence (sinking land). The Gulf of Mexico has one of the highest rates of subsidence in the nation due to sediment compaction and the extraction of groundwater, oil and natural gas. Restoration of the deltaic system can help stabilize shorelines and reduce the associated risks with rising sea levels. Deltas are formed by the constant inflow of sediment from rivers. However, the Mississippi River Delta has been cut off from this natural process through the construction of extensive levee systems for navigation and flood protection. Through planned sediment diversions, the natural deltaic process can be restored and help increase the resiliency of coastal areas.

Forest cover on Borneo over time, projected to 2020. Deforestation, driven mostly by clearing land to produce palm oil plantations, means less habitat for species such as orangutans, and more carbon emissions from disturbed peat lands.

From the Washington Post:

"There are two ways to think about the cost of energy. There’s the dollar amount that shows up on our utility bills or at the pump. And then there’s the “social cost” — all the adverse consequences that various energy sources... end up foisting on the public."

"The blue bars represent the current market cost of various energy sources. On top of that, Greenstone and Looney have added estimated health damages from air pollution (the purple bar), as well as the cost of climate-changing carbon emissions that come with burning fossil fuels (the gray bar)."

"At the end of the paper, Greenstone and Looney argue that the government should put a price on the social costs of fossil fuels — either through a cap on emissions or a tax. “If firms and consumers faced the full cost of their energy use,” they write, “they would have a greater incentive to make more-informed and socially efficient decisions about energy consumption.”"

While the average household today consists of fewer people than 60 years ago (2.55 people vs. 3.37 people), the average house size has increased by over 150%. Bigger houses (despite smaller families) means more energy used to heat and cool, more land cleared to build, and more materials required for construction.

CO2 emissions from coal, oil, and gas worldwide - the Washington Post

Change in mean sea level over the past two decades. The lull in 2011 was the result of La Nina, not a pause in climate change.