Last Words

Lights on Earth as seen from space in a composite image taken by meteorological satellites.

"If the United States is leading the way, it’s in the wrong direction. With less than 5 percent of the world’s population, we produce almost a quarter of its greenhouse-gas emissions. We consume nearly a third of the world’s electricity (mostly from coal) and 43 percent of its gasoline."

             —Paul Schell and Denis Hayes, Seattle Times, December 29, 1999

Data courtesy Marc Imhoff of NASA GSFC and Christopher Elvidge of NOAA NGDC. Image by Craig Mayhew and Robert Simmon, NASA GSFC.