Last reviewed: August 25, 2026
Every environmental figure HumanityU displays comes from one of two places, and we keep them strictly separate.
Published measurements — figures about the state of the planet, taken from named scientific and governmental sources. We paraphrase them in our own words, name the publisher, and show the year the measurement refers to. We do not reproduce source text.
Your own entries — the quantities you type into a calculator. These are self-reported estimates, converted using published factors listed below. They are labelled as self-reported wherever they appear, they are never presented as measured, and they are excluded from any public total.
Where we could not establish a source to the standard we set ourselves, our intention is to remove the figure rather than present it confidently. This page lists what we have and, just as importantly, what we do not.
These figures describe conditions on Earth. None of them is produced by HumanityU.
| Figure | Value | Publisher | Licence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Atmospheric CO₂ | 422 ppm (2024 annual average) | NOAA Mauna Loa Observatory | Public domain (US Gov) |
| Temperature rise | +1.45 °C (2024) | WMO, State of the Global Climate 2024 | Open access |
| Sea-level rise | 101 mm | NASA Sea Level Change Portal | Public domain (US Gov) |
| Deaths from air pollution | 7 million per year | WHO, Ambient Air Quality | Public domain (WHO) |
| People without safe water | 2.2 billion | WHO / UNICEF JMP 2023 | Open access |
| Land degraded | 40% | UNCCD, Global Land Outlook 2022 | Open access (UN) |
| Ocean plastic | 14+ million tonnes per year | UNEP, Beat Plastic Pollution | Open access (UN) |
| Deforestation | 4.2 million hectares per year | FAO, Forest Resources Assessment 2020 | Open access (FAO) |
Additional sources used in regional content include the IUCN Red List, NSIDC, the World Glacier Monitoring Service (Zemp et al. 2019, Nature), Hallmann et al. 2017 (PLOS ONE, CC BY 4.0), Lovejoy & Nobre 2018 (Science Advances), and AIMS reef monitoring.
These turn a quantity you enter into an estimated figure. Each is an approximation that varies by location, season, equipment and method — naming a source is not a claim that the resulting number is accurate for you.
| Factor | Publisher | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Water footprints of foods | Hoekstra & Mekonnen 2012, PNAS | Sourced |
| Household water rates (per flush, per load) | US EPA WaterSense | Sourced |
| Car CO₂ per mile | US EPA Fuel Economy Guide | Sourced |
| Diet carbon footprint | Poore & Nemecek 2018, Science | Sourced |
| Electricity CO₂ per kWh | Ember, Global Electricity Review 2025 | US figure — see below |
| Bus and rail CO₂ per mile | Attributed to DEFRA averages in our source code; the specific publication has not been verified by us | Unverified |
| Per-action savings estimates | None established | Illustrative only |
About the electricity factor. HumanityU applies a single United States figure — 384 grams of CO₂ per kWh, from Ember's Global Electricity Review — to every user, worldwide. Grid carbon intensity varies enormously: the global average is around 473 g, so for much of the world this understates emissions, while for a grid running largely on nuclear or hydro it overstates them. Within the United States alone, regional rates range from roughly 198 to 636 g. We are working on region-specific factors. Until then, treat any electricity figure as a rough order of magnitude, not a measurement of your household.
Map geometry is derived from Natural Earth, which is in the public domain. Topographic tiles are served by OpenTopoMap using OpenStreetMap data, available under CC BY-SA 3.0.
If you believe a figure here is wrong, out of date, or attributed incorrectly, tell us at support@humanityu.app. We would rather correct a number than defend it.
Scientific facts, government statistics and geographic data are not subject to copyright. All descriptive text, interface copy and design in HumanityU is original work.