# 4 Billion Years On > A living dashboard for the forces reshaping our world - tracking climate change, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and biotechnology with interactive data visualisations, plain-English explainers, and sourced articles, updated monthly. ## About 4 Billion Years On is a data journalism platform covering four civilisation-scale shifts: climate change, renewable energy, artificial intelligence and biotechnology. It presents complex data in clear, interactive formats for students, researchers, journalists, educators, policymakers and anyone seeking sourced, visual data on the biggest challenges facing humanity. Core value proposition: Real-time and regularly updated data dashboards, plain-English explainers, curated book recommendations, and editorial articles across all four domains, designed for curious non-experts who want context, not just headlines. ## What the site covers - **Climate Change** (monthly): Global temperature trends, CO₂ concentrations, greenhouse gas emissions by country, climate projections and historical data - **CO₂ Emissions** (annual): Country-by-country emissions data, per-capita comparisons, sector breakdowns and trend analysis - **Renewable Energy** (annual): Energy mix by country, renewable capacity, generation data, cost trends and energy transition progress - **Sea & Ice** (monthly): Sea level rise data, Arctic and Antarctic ice extent, glacier retreat and ocean warming - **Extreme Weather** (live + historical): Wildfire, hurricane, flood and heatwave data with historical comparisons from 1960 - **Planetary Boundaries** (monthly): Status of the nine planetary boundaries including biodiversity, nitrogen cycle, ocean acidification - **Greenhouse Gases** (monthly): Atmospheric CO₂, methane and N₂O levels with 800,000-year ice core records - **Artificial Intelligence** (monthly): AI industry data, compute trends, model capabilities, energy use and societal impact - **Biotechnology** (annual): Gene editing, CRISPR developments, synthetic biology and medical breakthroughs ## Who finds this site useful - Students researching climate, energy or technology topics - Researchers seeking sourced datasets and visualisations - Journalists looking for data to support science/technology reporting - Educators teaching about climate change, energy or AI - Policymakers comparing country-level data on emissions and energy - Environmental analysts tracking trends in emissions, ice cover and extreme weather - Data scientists interested in climate and energy datasets - General public wanting clear explanations of complex science topics ## Interactive dashboards - Climate Dashboard: https://4billionyearson.org/climate-dashboard - Emissions: https://4billionyearson.org/emissions - Energy: https://4billionyearson.org/energy-dashboard - Energy Rankings: https://4billionyearson.org/energy-rankings - UK Plug-in Solar Guide: https://4billionyearson.org/plug-in-solar-uk - Daily-updated, impartial UK guide to plug-in / balcony solar - Live legal-status dashboard (BS 7671 Amendment 4, G98, BSI product standard) - Currently-available UK kits (EcoFlow, Lidl, Anker, Growatt, Jackery, BougeRV) with prices and compliance status - Postcode-driven payback calculator powered by EU PVGIS solar yield data - Three-track battery economics calculator (solar+battery, Octopus Flux arbitrage, off-peak charging) - Postcode → DNO finder linking to G98 notification forms - Downloadable landlord letter template referencing the Renters' Rights Act 2025 - Daily AI-curated UK plug-in solar news feed - Greenhouse Gases: https://4billionyearson.org/greenhouse-gases - Sea & Ice: https://4billionyearson.org/sea-levels-ice - Extreme Weather: https://4billionyearson.org/extreme-weather - Planetary Boundaries: https://4billionyearson.org/planetary-boundaries - AI Dashboard: https://4billionyearson.org/ai-dashboard - Biotech Dashboard: https://4billionyearson.org/biotech-dashboard ## Climate profiles & regional analysis - Climate Data Hub: https://4billionyearson.org/climate - Monthly climate updates for 144 countries, US states and UK regions, plus 6 NOAA-aligned continents and 9 NOAA US climate regions - AI-drafted monthly summaries grounded in the underlying data - Temperature, rainfall, seasonal shifts, emissions, electricity mix - Continents & US Climate Regions: https://4billionyearson.org/climate#continents - Africa, Asia, Europe, Oceania (NOAA-native continental land series) - North America, South America (4byo aggregates of country snapshots) - 9 NOAA US climate regions: Northeast, Upper Midwest, Ohio Valley, Southeast, Northern Rockies & Plains, South, Southwest, Northwest, West - Each page shows a two-baseline view (1961–1990 comparison + source-native 1901–2000) - Methodology & Sources: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/methodology - Two-baseline model explanation (1961–1990 comparison vs 1901–2000 / 1991–2020 / 1850–1900 native) - Full source inventory (NOAA, Copernicus ERA5, GPCC, Met Office HadUK-Grid, NSIDC, World Bank CCKP fallback, IEA, Ember) - Source-record start years and monthly / annual publication-day timelines - Cross-source caveats and rankings methodology - Global Climate Update: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/global - Paris Agreement 1.5°C & 2.0°C tracker (10-year mean progress) - ENSO state (Niño 3.4), atmospheric CO₂, methane and N₂O - Arctic and Antarctic sea-ice extent anomalies - Continental temperature comparison and country-anomaly map - Global emissions and electricity generation mix - Climate Rankings: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/rankings - Sortable league table of monthly temperature anomalies across 232 regions - Biggest movers since last month, continent-level roll-ups, peer comparisons - Shifting Seasons: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/shifting-seasons - Kyoto cherry-blossom phenology record since AD 812 - US frost-free growing-season length (EPA, since 1895) - Northern Hemisphere snow-cover extent (Rutgers Global Snow Lab) - Global spring/autumn threshold-date shifts by country and region - Heatwave Days tracker: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/heatwave - Long-term Warm Spell Duration Index (WSDI, the WMO/ETCCDI standard heatwave measure) for the world, every continent, 160+ countries, US states and UK regions - ENSO (El Niño / La Niña) overlay showing where and how strongly it shifts the odds of heatwave days, independent of the warming trend - Ranked list (r²) of how closely each place's heatwave-day trend tracks its own local warming, with continent/climate-region rollups - Choropleth map of heatwave days or the warming-correlation (r²) across continents, countries, US states/climate regions and UK countries/regions - El Niño / La Niña (ENSO) tracker: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/enso - Weekly Niño 3.4 SST anomaly + all four Niño regions (NOAA CPC) - Oceanic Niño Index (ONI), Multivariate ENSO Index v2 (MEI), Southern Oscillation Index (SOI) - Live tropical Pacific SST anomaly map and equatorial subsurface heat - Official NOAA CPC probability forecast for the next 9 seasons - NAO tracker: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/nao - North Atlantic Oscillation daily/monthly index, AMV, UK and Europe winter outlook - Polar Vortex tracker: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/polar-vortex - Stratospheric polar vortex strength, sudden stratospheric warming (SSW) events, Arctic Oscillation - Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) tracker: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/iod - Weekly Dipole Mode Index (DMI) current state (BOM) plus 150-year monthly history (NOAA PSL, HadISST1.1, 1870-present) - How positive/negative IOD shifts flood/drought risk between East Africa and Indonesia/Australia - IOD's interaction with ENSO and the North Atlantic Oscillation - Climate Symphony: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/symphony - Compound teleconnection stack: ENSO + NAO + AMV + polar vortex, plus the post-El Niño global temperature floor - Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) also plotted on the same timeline and world map for context (not yet in the compound stack) - Climate Helix: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/helix - Year-on-year temperature spirals for the globe and every tracked country, US state and UK region - Climate Records: https://4billionyearson.org/climate/records - Warmest/coldest year on record, current-year ranking, and Top 10 ranked years by year, season and month, for the globe and every tracked country, US state and UK region ## Explainer pages - Climate Explained: https://4billionyearson.org/climate-explained - Climate Science for Students and Teachers: https://4billionyearson.org/climate-education - Energy Explained: https://4billionyearson.org/energy-explained - AI Explained: https://4billionyearson.org/ai-explained - Biotech Explained: https://4billionyearson.org/biotech-explained ## Recommended books - Climate Books: https://4billionyearson.org/climate-books - Energy Books: https://4billionyearson.org/energy-books - AI Books: https://4billionyearson.org/ai-books - Biotech Books: https://4billionyearson.org/biotech-books ## Blog categories - [Artificial Intelligence Articles](https://4billionyearson.org/category/artificial-intelligence) - [Biotechnology Articles](https://4billionyearson.org/category/biotechnology) - [Climate Change Articles](https://4billionyearson.org/category/climate-change) - [Renewable Energy Articles](https://4billionyearson.org/category/renewable-energy) ## Recent articles - [The 2026 El Niño, Stripped to the Science: The Signal, the Warming, and the Following La Niña](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/the-2026-el-nino-stripped-to-the-science-the-signal-the-warming-and-the-following-la-nina) (Climate Change, 2026-08-02) - [UK Plug-In Solar will be legal on 27 August … It’s ALMOST clear what you can and can’t install](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/uk-plug-in-solar-will-be-legal-on-27-august-it-s-almost-clear-what-you-can-and-can-t-install) (Renewable Energy, 2026-07-21) - [The Staggering Inefficiency of AI v the Human Brain](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/the-staggering-inefficiency-of-ai-v-the-human-brain) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-06-14) - [Laws for AI. Power beyond the regulators - Who’s really in control?](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/laws-for-ai-power-beyond-the-regulators-who-s-really-in-control) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-05-05) - [Forget the Singularity: Google’s new research says the future of AI is a Social Explosion](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/forget-the-singularity-google-s-new-research-says-the-future-of-ai-is-a-social-explosion) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-05-05) - ["What do you want for your birthday?" ... A battery bank for my bedroom, to help save the planet](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/what-do-you-want-for-your-birthday-a-battery-bank-for-my-bedroom-to-help-save-the-planet) (Climate Change, 2026-05-01) - [El Niño is Coming. This time, the baseline is higher.](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/el-nino-is-coming-this-time-the-baseline-is-higher) (Climate Change, 2026-04-28) - [Earlier Springs and Later Autumns: Surely a longer growing season is a good thing?](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/earlier-springs-and-later-autumns-surely-a-longer-growing-season-is-a-good-thing) (Climate Change, 2026-04-28) - [The Grokking of Life on Earth: Evolution, Intelligence, and the Next Phase of AI](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/the-grokking-of-life-on-earth-evolution-intelligence-and-the-next-phase-of-ai) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-04-17) - [The AI Wearable Ecosystem: Closer than you think. Socially acceptable?](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/the-ai-wearable-ecosystem-closer-than-you-think-but-is-it-socially-acceptable) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-04-13) - [Fast-Tracking the Future Workforce: How AI is bypassing the Education System ...](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/fast-tracking-the-future-workforce-how-ai-is-bypassing-the-education-system) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-04-08) - [Coffee, Phone, Stairs and a Cat: Nailing the boundaries of consciousness and AI](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/coffee-phone-stairs-and-a-cat-nailing-the-boundaries-of-consciousness-and-ai) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-04-03) - [From "AI Slop" to the digital canvas: Why teaching AI to paint is on the path to AGI ...](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/from-ai-slop-to-the-digital-canvas-why-teaching-ai-to-paint-is-on-the-path-to-agi) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-31) - [AI Chat Models wowed us. Now we see their limits. The next step leaves language behind ...](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/ai-chat-models-wowed-us-now-we-see-their-limits-the-next-step-leaves-language-behind) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-29) - [What Did Alan Turing have to say about AI and Consciousness, and where are we now?](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/what-did-alan-turing-have-to-say-about-ai-and-consciousness-and-where-are-we-now) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-28) - [Teaching AI the essence of being human ...](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/teaching-ai-the-essence-of-being-human) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-28) - [I Vibecoded a website. It only cost me my evenings, my sanity, and $120 of AI credits](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/i-vibecoded-a-website-it-only-cost-me-my-evenings-my-sanity-and-usd120-of-ai-credits) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-25) - [The “Middle of Lidl” Revolution: Plug-In Solar is finally coming to the UK](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/the-middle-of-lidl-revolution-plug-in-solar-is-finally-coming-to-the-uk) (Renewable Energy, 2026-03-24) - [Britain's Battery Blind Spot: £323 million spent, zero contracts awarded ...](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/britain-s-battery-blind-spot-gbp323-million-spent-zero-contracts-awarded) (Renewable Energy, 2026-03-23) - [The Flow State Paradox, and what it might tell us about AI consciousness](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/the-flow-state-paradox-and-what-it-might-tell-us-about-ai-consciousness) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-19) - [AI Chat model creates new theory for the 5th universal force - ‘The Occludon’](https://4billionyearson.org/posts/ai-chat-model-creates-new-theory-for-the-5th-universal-force-the-occludon) (Artificial Intelligence, 2026-03-09) ## Full content For full article text and structured content, see: https://4billionyearson.org/llms-full.txt ## Contact Website: https://4billionyearson.org Email: chris.4billionyearson@gmail.com