Updated Carbon Emissions by Country

My students are going to make this graph tomorrow in the computer lab and I am too excited to contain myself any longer and have to share the results!  This data is from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC).  The data from 2011 and 2012 is preliminary, but fascinating, so worth showing. 

This is a graph of carbon emissions by country since 1900.  This shows an interesting story and ignores population, which my students will be paying close attention to in their assignment. 

• Even though China is through the roof with their emissions, China has only emitted 42.5% of the amount of carbon dioxide the United States has from 1900-2012!  Cumulative emissions are important because carbon dioxide has a long lifetime in the atmosphere. 
• An American still emits 2.8 times that of a Chinese person, on average, based on 2010 data.

This data is from the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center (CDIAC).

My reason for having my students go through this exercise is because I think it is important for Americans to take responsibility for being the main contributor to global warming and not simply pawn the solution off to Asia as China's emissions rise.