“State of the Planet
You Asked: Dinosaurs Survived When CO2 Was Extremely High. Why Can’t Humans? – State of the Planet
Sep 20, 2022
Carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere
Concentrations of CO 2 in the atmosphere were as high as 4,000 ppm during the Cambrian period about 500 million years ago, and as low as 180 ppm during the Quaternary glaciation of the last two million years.
For most of the history of life on earth carbon dioxide has been present in the atmosphere at much higher levels than it is today. During the Cambrian explosion, when multi-cellular life first came on the scene, CO2 levels were as much as 10 times higher than they are today. From a big picture perspective, we’re actually living in a low carbon dioxide era. The optimum level of CO2 for plant growth, for example, is four to five times what is currently found in our atmosphere. That’s why greenhouse growers worldwide actually inject additional CO2 into their greenhouses — they want to promote plant growth.
” During the Cambrian explosion, when multi-cellular life first came on the scene, CO2 levels were as much as 10 times higher than they are today. From a big picture perspective, “
Which led to global warming, mass extinctions and sea levels 600 feet higher than today.