Anthropgenic CO2 Emissions Flat; Record Rates Of Atmospheric CO2 Increase

[hatrack]

EDIT

Emissions declined in both the United States and China, and stayed level in Europe. That's because of increased natural gas usage and a reduction in coal usage in the United States and China. Dangerous smog levels in major cities have also forced the Chinese government to crack down on air pollution.

In the United States, emissions dropped 3 percent, to the lowest level since 1992, as the economy grew 1.6 percent. In China, emissions declined 1 percent, while the economy grew 6.7 percent. The country also expanded the reliance of its electrical grid on hydro and wind sources as well as nuclear.

EDIT

Indeed, February 2017 was the second-hottest in 137 years of record keeping, only falling behind last year, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and NASA announced on Friday. The average global temperature was 1.76 degrees Fahrenheit above the 20th-century average of 53.9 F, according to NOAA. This winter overall is also the second-warmest on record, behind last year.

Meanwhile, the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continues to rise at unprecedented pace. Atmospheric carbon levels have continued to grow even as fossil fuel emissions have leveled off. That's because there are other sources of CO2 in the atmosphere, including the melting tundra and warming oceans, but also because carbon dioxide lingers in the atmosphere for some time even if emissions are reduced. The news about level carbon emissions comes a few days after NOAA announced that global carbon emissions have been measured at an all-time high. The CO2 measured at the Mauna Loa Baseline Atmospheric Observatory in Hawaii hit 405.1 parts per million last year. That's an increase of 3 parts per million and makes five consecutive years of CO2 increases of at least 2 parts per million, an unprecedented rate of growth, according to NOAA.

EDIT

http://www.eenews.net/stories/1060051707

[NNadir]

1. "Flat" doesn't work. "Flat" means staying at record levels. What needs to be done is...

"eliminate."

It is technically, but not politically or socially, feasible to "eliminate." But it would require a huge change in the discussion; completely and totally "out of the box."

The box we're in hasn't worked, isn't working, and won't work.

[hatrack]

2. Too much money inside the box! The magic box! Box is climate-controlled!

Great entertainment, too - hundreds of box channels for distraction and fun!

[NickB79]

3. Carbon sinks are saturating rapidly

Unfortunately for us, all of our scenarios to hold climate change below 2C assume carbon sinks will keep on sucking up our shit. They will not.

Between that and positive feedback loops venting carbon from thawing permafrost, overheated soils and dying forests, we'll be lucky to stay under 4C by century's end.