Trouble Spots From depleted forests to dying reefs, distress signals dot the globe. Even in the U.S., with its relatively clean environment, excessive carbon emissions fuel global warming
Carbon emissions The U.S. produces more greenhouse gasses than any other country--and by far the most per person
Deforestation Burning of forests to create cropland and unregulated timber harvesting have destroyed more than 15% of the Amazon in only 30 years
Antarctic warming Since 1945 the Antarctic Peninsula has experienced a warming of about 4.5[degrees]F (2.5[degrees]C). The annual melt season has increased by 2 to 3 weeks in just the past 20 years
Thinning ice The melting is a result of global warming, which could lead to rising sea levels and more severe storms and droughts
Drought Severe food shortages caused by two years of drought may kill as many as 300,000 people in southern Africa in the next six months, according to the U.N. Countries hardest hit include Malawi, Zambia, Lesotho, Zimbabwe, Swaziland and Mozambique
Overpopulation If India does not curtail population growth, by 2050 it will surpass China as the most populous nation, with a projected 1.5 billion people
Threatened reefs As much as 86% of Indonesia's coral reefs, home to thousands of marine species, are severely damaged by overfishing, sedimentation and pollution
Carbon-dioxide emissions from the consumption and flaring of fossil fuels (in billions of metric tons)
North America 1980 1.48 2000 1.83
Central and South America 1980 0.17 2000 0.27
Western Europe 1980 1.02 2000 1.00
Eastern Europe and former Soviet Union 1980 1.14 2000 0.84
Middle East 1980 0.14 2000 0.29
Asia and Oceania 1980 0.97 2000 1.97
Arctic sea-ice thickness
1958-76 average 9.8ft. (3 m)
1993-97 average 5.6 ft. (1.7 m)
Urban areas with more than 10 million people
Los Angeles 13.1 million
Mexico City 18.1 million
New York 16.6 million
Rio de Janeiro 10.6 million
Sao Paulo 17.8 million
Buenos Aires 12.6 million
Lagos, Nigeria 13.4 million
Cairo, Egypt 10.6 million
Karachi, Pakistan 11.8 million
Delhi India 11.7 million
Mumbai (Bombay), India 18.1 million
Dhaka, Bangladesh 12.3 million
Calcutta, India 12.9 million
Jakarta, Indonesia 11 million
Beijing, China 10.8 million
Shanghai China 17 million
Manila, Philippines 10.9 million
Osaka, Japan 11 million
Tokyo, Japan 26.4 million
Sources for map Land use: NASA/Boston University department of Geography; urbanization: NASA Visible Earth City Lights; U.N. Population Fund, 2000; Amazon deforestation: ActGlobal.org/Instituto Socioambiental; coral reefs: World Resources Institute: Reefs at Risk; carbon-dioxide emissions: Energy information Administration; trouble spots: AP; U.N. Environment Program, Global Warming Early Warning Signs 1999; World Resources Institute
FOOD
Hunger continues to plague poorer countries, especially in Africa, as badly managed agriculture leads to soil salinization and degradation