Man has now increased the level of atmospheric CO2 by 42 % since the industrial revolution. Mark Serreze, Director, National Snow and Ice Data Center "It seems that we've made our decision regarding what to do about climate change. We are going to do nothing and hope that the effects will be manageable. The history of humanity is filled with shortsighted, illogical choices. We can now add another one to our quiver."
"This number is a reminder that for the last 150 years â and especially over the last several decades â we have been recklessly polluting the protective sheath of atmosphere that surrounds the Earth and protects the conditions that have fostered the flourishing of our civilization," Gore said in a statement. "We are altering the composition of our atmosphere at an unprecedented rate." Carbon dioxide traps heat just like in a greenhouse. It accounts for three-quarters of the planet's heat-trapping gases. There are others, such as methane, which has a shorter life span but traps heat more effectively. Both trigger temperatures to rise over time, scientists say, which is causing sea levels to rise and some weather patterns to change. The level of carbon dioxide in the air is rising faster than in the past decades, despite international efforts by developed nations to curb it. On average the amount is growing by about 2 ppm per year. That's 100 times faster than at the end of the Ice Age.
The speed of the change is the big worry, said Pennsylvania State's Mann. If carbon dioxide levels go up 100 ppm over thousands or millions of years, plants and animals can adapt. But that can't be done at the speed it is now happening. "We are a society that has inadvertently chosen the double-black diamond run without having learned to ski first," NASA climate scientist Gavin Schmidt said. "It will be a bumpy ride."
You know when science took a big nose dive? When scientists were able to measure PPM, PPB. Ppm and PPb are fine and dandy but scientists don't know what to do with that information.
Can you explain to us laymen, in laymen terms (use money, I understand that) the above growth formula. Tia.
yes its gone up 42%, however uve wrongly assumed co2 in PPM has a natural level and doesnt move, the PPM number goes up and down throughout the history of the earth, given the small % of co2 attributed to humans id be careful in saying we are responsible for a 42% increase
The attribution that PPM measurement has reached 400 has already been cast in doubt with worldwide scientific scrutiny in regards to the measure methods and locations. It is interesting that CNN and other media channels decided to run with this story as if it spelled doom for the earth within the next few years, and attempted to tie it to acidic oceans and severe weather. The reality is that this story should be about a group of climate scientists fabricating results by only using a small set of data that supported their pre-detemined position and ignoring other measurement data.