“I’ve starred in a lot of science fiction movies and, let me tell you something, climate change is not science fiction. This is a battle in the real world, it is impacting us right now."

Arnold Schwarzenegger, Actor & Former Governor of California

CO2 Emissions and Population

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The positive, linear slope on the scatter plot indicates a moderate association between Co2 emissions and population. As population increases, Co2 emissions tend to increase as well.

CO2 Emissions and National GDP

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The positive, linear slope on the scatter plot indicates a strong, direct association between Co2 emissions and GDP. As GDP increases, Co2 emissions increase as well.

The scatter plot has two potential outliers, the United States and China. The United States is an outlier because its Co2 emissions are actually relatively low compared to its world-best GDP, and is off of the best line of fit. China is an outlier because its Co2 emissions far surpass what a country of that size GDP should have. For example, the US has a much higher GDP, yet China has about double the carbon emissions that America does. China is also off the best line of fit, but in a negative way compared to the US’s positive change.

Global Share of CO2 Emissions

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China has 29%, more than a quarter, of the entire world’s carbon emissions, despite having 18.47% of its population.

The US has 14% of the world’s carbon emissions, despite only having 4.25% of the world’s population.

The highest 4 countries emit more carbon than the rest of the world.

The highest 3 countries emit about the same carbon as the entire world--around 50%.