CLIMATE CHANGE AND OCEAN ACIDIFICATION - Marine Pollution: What Everyone Needs to Know - page 184

greenhouse gases. By reducing the amount of trash, we cut
both CO 2 emissions from incinerating waste and methane (a
potent greenhouse gas) emissions from trash decomposing in
landfills. Recycling paper reduces the cutting down of trees
that absorb greenhouse gases. The US recycling rate has been
rising steadily since the 1970s when the rate was only 7%; 34%
of trash was recycled in 2010. This is good, but we still have
a way to go. The almost 10 million tons of paper containers
and packaging we throw away annually could save the energy
equivalent of 1.6 billion gallons of gasoline.
Despite all these efforts, global CO 2 continues to rise. In the
United States, the Energy Information Administration (EIA)
statistics for total domestic carbon dioxide emissions reveal a
2.32 % increase in US carbon emissions during 2013, over 2012
levels. It is urgent that remedies to halt ocean degradation be
established; the rate, speed, and negative impacts of climate
change in the global ocean are greater and faster than previ-
ously thought.