Day 231 – “Carbon dioxide levels today are higher than at any point in at least the past 800,000 years. Carbon dioxide concentrations are rising mostly because of the fossil fuels that people are burning for energy. Fossil fuels like coal and oil contain carbon that plants pulled out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis over the span of many millions of years; we are returning that carbon to the atmosphere in just a few hundred years.” – NOAA
Increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide are responsible for about two-thirds of the total energy imbalance that is causing Earth’s temperature to rise. That extra heat is driving regional and seasonal temperature extremes, reducing snow cover and sea ice, intensifying heavy rainfall, and changing habitat ranges for plants and animals—expanding some and shrinking others. The 10 warmest years on record have all occurred since 2005, and 7 of the 10 have occurred just since 2014.
Car emissions is a big culprit to the increase of greenhouse gases. Let’s take a look at the best and worst cars.
GreenerCars.org’s 2021 Greenest List features the most environmentally friendly cars now available. Most of the cars listed are electric or hybrid.
- Hyundai Ioniq Electric
- Mini Cooper SE Hardtop 2 door
- Toyota Prius Prime
- BMW i3s
- Nissan Leaf
- Honda Clarity
- Hyundai Kona Electric
- Kia Soul Electric
- Tesla Model 3 Standard Range Plus
- Toyota Rav4 Prime AWD
The top gasoline fueled or gasoline hybrids include:
- Toyota Camry Hybrid LE
- Hyundai Sonata Hybrid Blue
- Honda Insight Touring
- Toyota Rav4 Hybrid AWD
- Chevrolet Spark
- Kia Sorento Hybrid
- Kia Soul Eco dynamics
- Toyota Sienna
- Toyota Highlander Hybrid AWD
- Mazda MX-5
The cars with the lowest environmental rating include the following:
- RAM 1500 TRX 4×4
- Lexus LX 570
- Mercedes-Benz AMG G 63
- Toyota Land Cruiser Wagon 4WD
- Toyota Sequoia 4WD
- Toyota Tundra 4WD
- Dodge Durango SRT
- Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT 4×4
- Land Rover Range Rover LWB SVA
- BMW X5 M
You can see how your car ranks by checking out Green Scores of ranked vehicles, available in the GreenerCars.org interactive database, dating back to model year 2000. The database lists each configuration’s fuel economy, health-related pollution impacts, and greenhouse gas emissions.
Tomorrow, recycling facts.
365 Ways to Save the Planet 