Watch as the World Emits More and More Carbon

Laura Bliss shares news of a new interactive map that charts global emissions over the course of 260 years.

Bliss explains the origin story of the map:

"French economist Aurélien Saussay created the map (and the animated video, below) using data from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, which tracks fossil-fuel burning (plus concrete production and gas flares) all the way back to 1751—the beginning of the fossil fuel era."

Bliss also explains how to use the tool, and a few insights to begin your exploration:

"Use the red slider to move back and forth through time, and click on any country to see how their carbon contributions measured up against the world’s total. As the birthplace of the Industrial Revolution, Europe was the carbon hotspot for a close to a century. It wasn’t until 1891 that the U.S. surpassed the U.K. as Earth’s leading CO2 polluter—which it stayed until just a decade ago, when China took up that ignominious title."

And there is also the short video below providing a glimpse into the world's carbon addiction.