Elevated CO2 Levels Directly Affect Human Cognition, New Harvard Study Shows
Apparently, increased levels of carbon dioxide affect human cognition. They inhibit basic cognitive activity, crisis response, decision-making, and strategy. The problem was researched primarily in poor indoor-air quality and is likely to worsen as overall air quality indoor and out declines due to climate change. High concentrations of CO2 in the air seem to diminish thinking activity across the board.
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2015/10/26/3714853/carbon-dioxide-impair-brain/
Introductory excerpt:
In a landmark public health finding, a new study from the Harvard School of Public Health finds that carbon dioxide (CO2) has a direct and negative impact on human cognition and decision-making. These impacts have been observed at CO2 levels that most Americans — and their children — are routinely exposed to today inside classrooms, offices, homes, planes, and cars.
Carbon dioxide levels are inevitably higher indoors than the baseline set by the outdoor air used for ventilation, a baseline that is rising at an accelerating rate thanks to human activity, especially the burning of fossil fuels. So this seminal research has equally great importance for climate policy, providing an entirely new public health impetus for keeping global CO2 levels as low as possible.
This does not bode well for the future of clear-headed decision-making and crisis response to the problem of global warming itself. Human beings overall are likely to experience diminished cognitive ability due to high levels of CO2.
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