High carbon dioxide levels set a record

SFGate.com ^ | 5/1/14 | David Perlman

[NormsRevenge]

There's striking new evidence that Earth's atmosphere is increasingly saturated with carbon dioxide, the major gas from fossil fuel emissions that trigger climate change.

...

"This should be taken as a warning," said Ken Caldeira, an atmospheric scientist with the Carnegie Institution's department of global ecology at Stanford University. "It is time to stop building things with tailpipes and smokestacks.

"It is time to stop using the sky as a waste dump for our carbon dioxide pollution. If we fail to heed this warning, our children will end up living in a world that is much hotter than any human being has ever experienced."

The instruments that have been measuring carbon dioxide for more than 50 years showed that for the entire month of April, levels of the gas exceeded 400 parts per million for the first time, said Pieter Tans, a climate scientist at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Agency who monitors the instrument record.

The precise average for the entire month was 401.25 parts per million as of Tuesday, he said, and that level had only reached the crucial 400 threshold for the first time during a single day a year ago before dipping slightly.

[Cboldt]

Set a record?

[Milton Miteybad]

There's striking new evidence that Earth's atmosphere is increasingly saturated with carbon dioxide, the major gas from fossil fuel emissions that trigger climate change.

And yet, today's atmospheric CO2 levels are still far lower than in the distant geologic past. In the middle of the Jurassic period, atmospheric CO2 concentrations were roughly 2000 ppm. At the beginning of the Tertiary period some 65 million years ago, CO2 concentrations were still about 1000 ppm. It has been estimated that during the Cambrian period, atmospheric CO2 was as much as 7000 ppm.

At today's meager levels, it can be accurately said that the Earth's atmosphere is CO2-impoverished. The last time in geologic history CO2 levels were this low? 300 million years ago, during the Carboniferous and Permian periods.

[FatherofFive]

the major gas from fossil fuel emissions that trigger climate change

Here in Tulsa we are 14 degrees below average, and 31 degrees below the record high for the day.

It is a wonderful day, but clearly global warming is not happening. The climate has been changing for billions of years. There is no normal. The only normal is change.

[cuban leaf]

the major gas from fossil fuel emissions that trigger climate change.

---

WTF?

[alloysteel]

What’s crucial about 400 parts per million carbon dioxide?

Crucial is maybe 20,000 parts per million, but we are well below that threshold.

Otherwise you would die if you simply held your breath for a couple minutes.

Most life on earth is much more adaptable than that.

[thackney]

If the CO2 is released from burning fossil fuels,

and the fossil fuels are from decayed biological matter,

and that biological matter gathered the carbon by pulling it out of the CO2 in the atmosphere,

it is pretty tough to follow that argument anywhere but to conclude the CO2 levels in the air used to be far higher.

[cuban leaf]

Trees are lovin’ it!

---

So is algae. I understand they make diesel from it.

[onedoug]

"This should be taken as a warning," said Ken Caldeira, an atmospheric scientist with the Carnegie Institution's department of global ecology at Stanford University.

The "ecology" bit in the name gives the jig up right away. The "atmospheric scientist" schtik is suspect too. Is he a meteorologist, or not?

He should set the example and stop emitting CO2 by means of his own "ecological" systems.

[SunkenCiv]

Lying Demagogues / Partisan Media Shills alert!

There's striking new evidence that Earth's atmosphere is increasingly saturated with carbon dioxide...

There's zero evidence for that, because, obviously, the constituents of the Earth's atmosphere are monitored constantly, have been for years, and the absolute fact is, based on proxy data (measurements of the air in ships in bottles, bubbles in ice cores, etc) the estimate of the increase in CO2 over the past 165 years or so is 100 ppm.

To put that into perspective, that's one percent of one percent of one percent.

Thanks NormsRevenge.

[upchuck]

Saturated: containing the maximum amount of solute capable of being dissolved under given conditions.

Somehow I don’t think we’re drowning in CO2.

[MUDDOG]

I don’t know. I’m a Denier.

[Fedupwithit]

[thackney]

Now try to explain how a mixture of gases become saturated with one of the gases.

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

The weasel words in your graph are: "now at words never seen in history". If "history" is the written record of human beings; then that statement may be true. However, today's CO2 levels are only a tiny fraction of the levels they have ever reached on the planet. Here's another graph:

[USFRIENDINVICTORIA]

I see that I posted the same graph as you, in my #34. I took a while finding my graph, and composing my response — I should have checked back to see if anyone had posted it, in the meantime.

[MasterGunner01]

Attention SFGate.com: some Basic Botany 101. Pants breathe in carbon dioxide and give of oxygen. This is a win-win, both for making happy plants and happy humans.

[Night Hides Not]

So is algae. I understand they make diesel from it.

[Night Hides Not]

Ban all carbonated drinks. They’re totally unnecessary. (except for beer)

Prosecco is totally necessary to my life, so it better not be banned.

[oldtech]

After all this time,why are they still referring to CO2 as a “pollutant”?

[fhayek]

It’s crucial because they can use the 400 level to leverage even more government grant funds.