Atmospheric Levels Of CO2 Reach 390 ppm

[RestoreGore]

If you watched An Inconvenient Truth or read the book, you saw the graph which represents temperature increases and CO2 increases over the last 650,000 years showing that temperature rise has been consistent with CO2 rise since the Industrial Revolution. Pre Industrial Revolution concentration of CO2 was 280 ppm (parts per million.) In 2005, that level in Mauna Loa was 381 parts per million. If current trends continue and evasive action not taken to mitigate the amount of CO2 being put into our atmosphere at the rapacious rate it is being spewed up there with even more coal plants going on line weekly, population increases,lack of moral will, and other factors, CO2 levels would rise to close to 600 ppm within the next 45 years, and that would be catastrophic.

At no point in the last 650,000 has CO2 gone above 300 ppm... but it has now, and as the IPCC reported, 90% of that increase is now attributed to human behavior. We have a moral imperative to act, but to me it seems like it is taking so long for people to even understand this, deny this, or bitch about it, that we are running out of time. How can people know this and still not act? This again is not a political issue, and this is the reason why.

I then fear great damage has been done to really jumpstarting the action necessary THIS YEAR (not 2020 or 2050, but THIS YEAR) due to those in the media and elsewhere who have done exactly that... make this a partisan political issue over a moral one. Al Gore is not doing this for a partisan political reason, and he is not the only person out here warning the world about this. He is doing this because it is imperative that we see the urgency of what has happened to this planet by our hand and to move us to do all in our power now to mitigate anymore damage, because what we have put up in our atmosphere and in our oceans over the last couple hundred years is still there and its affects are being felt worldwide. How many more of these types of articles will we have to see before that urgency really sinks in? We are destroying our own life support system.

And here is a message to China after reading this and they're blaming the rest of the world for this: STOP BLAMING EVERYONE ELSE FOR YOUR HAND IN THIS AND START JOINING THE WORLD COMMUNITY TO STOP IT. Perhaps politicians won't have to guts to tell China that because of all the paper they own on us and all of the industry in their country that makes products shipped here with cheap labor, but that is reality. And that goes for this government as well. You are in dereliction of your duty as representatives of this country to continue to use this issue as a political wedge and to not pass comprehensive and necessary legislation to meet this head on THIS YEAR. We don't have until 2050! I hope when Al Gore goes up on that hill next month that he tells the lot of you everything he couldn't say when he was part of that Hill, because you people need to hear it. You need a lesson in MORALS.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070216/ts_nm/globalwarming_carbon_dc

Greenhouse gases hit new high By Alister Doyle, Environment Correspondent
Fri Feb 16, 12:16 PM ET

OSLO (Reuters) - Greenhouse gases widely blamed for causing global warming have jumped to record highs in the atmosphere, apparently stoked by rising emissions from Asian industry, a researcher said on Friday.

"Levels are at a new high," said Kim Holmen, research director of the Norwegian Polar Institute which oversees the Zeppelin measuring station on the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard about 1,200 km (750 miles) from the North Pole.

He told Reuters that concentrations of carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas emitted largely by burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars, had risen to 390 parts per million (ppm) from 388 a year ago.

Levels have hit peaks almost every year in recent decades, bolstering theories of warming, and are far above 270 ppm before the Industrial Revolution of the 18th century. Climate scientists say the heat-trapping gas is blanketing the planet.

Holmen said the increase of 2 ppm from 2006 reflected an accelerating rise in recent years. "When I was young, scientists were talking about 1 ppm rise" every year, he said. "Since 2000 it has been a very rapid rate."

"The large increases in release rates are definitely in the Asian economies," led by China, he said. China is opening coal-fired power plants at the rate of almost one a week.

More at the link

[phantom power]

1. 400! 400! Go 400!

did I say that, or just think it?

[Red Zelda]

2. Oh please may we get to 500!

I love a warmer world. Fucking polar bears.

[bananas]

7. at 2ppm/year, that's just five years. nt

[Dead_Parrot]

16. 2ppm/year would come as a pleasant surprise, at this point.

From http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/ccgg/trends:

year: ppm:
2002 2.55
2003 2.31
2004 1.54
2005 2.54
2006 2.46

(2.28 avg for 5 years)

[soothsayer]

3. when are we going to look at reducing airplane emissions? even

al gore didn't address it in the film (how could he, when he was crowing about all the places he gave his speech?)

[RestoreGore]

4. He's carbon neutral

Are you? And to answer your question, I agree, we need to address it. You tell me how if you're serious about this.

[LongTomH]

29. The way to reducing airplane emissions is building bullet trains

especially if they're electric, like France's TGV.

Don't get me wrong, I've worked in the airline industry and loved it! There is a lot that could be done to reduce emissions through better engine designs and alternate fuels; however, replacing or augmenting shorter airline routes in high traffic corridors would go a lot further.

Bullet trains should be a part of a "Total Transport Strategy" that would include innovations in mass-transit, including my favorite: all-electric monorails.

[Dead_Parrot]

5. It's only a number. nt

[hatrack]

9. "Camelot!" "Camelot!" "Camelot!"

"It's only a model."

"Shhh!!!"

[Dead_Parrot]

11. ...

We're Knights of the Round Table.
We dance whene'er we're able.
We do routines and chorus scenes
With footwork impeccable.
We dine well here in Camelot:
We eat ham and jam and spam a lot.

We're Knights of the Round Table.
Our shows are formidable,
But many times we're given rhymes
That are quite unsingable.
We're opera mad in Camelot:
We sing from the diaphragm a lot.

In war we're tough and able,
Quite indefatigable.
Between our quests we sequin vests
And impersonate Clark Gable.
It's a busy life in Camelot:
I have to push the pram a lot.

Surprisingly, the Northants medieval society (which I used to be a member of, many years ago) used to do the whole song & dance, in full working armour, with specially reinforced tables. Unsurprisingly, they couldn't do it twice. Not it the same (k)night, anyway: One of those things you should see before you die...

Ahem. Slightly OT. :)

[RestoreGore]

15. That's why I am grateful An Inconveneint Truth was made,,,

because people see the affects of that number. What it does to move them to action however, is the moral dilemma we now face.

[ClintonTyree]

6. Oh please.....

"At no point in the last 650,000 has CO2 gone above 300 ppm... but it has now"....

Everyone knows the Earth is only 8,000 years old. All of those "fossil records" have been planted by Satan to test our faith.

If God didn't want us to pollute the air then he would never have created and hidden all of that oil under the ground, free for the taking.

I'm sorry, but this "voodoo science" which you rely upon to scare people of faith isn't going to work. We know what the deal really is, God will take care of us all so there's absolutely nothing to worry about. Besides, we're all going to be raptured soon anyway. Isn't it wonderful? :)

Just in case this is needed, :sarcasm:

[piedmont]

13. 8,000? Blasphemer!!

It's 6011 years old. You're going to hell!

[ClintonTyree]

18. Ouch...

You're correct. I'll say 20 "hail spaghetti monsters" and 20 "our father the noodley ones" to atone for my sins. That'll give me a clean slate for tomorrow and I can start fresh. ;)

[kestrel91316]

8. All that really matters to most folks these days is short-term financial gain.

Malignant Me-ism.

[hootinholler]

10. But wait there's more!

We have tons of methane trapped in the permafrost that ain't so perma these days. Methane is the way to go if you want to heat up some gasses with solar energy, it's so much more efficient than the wimpy old CO2.

-Hoot

[GreenPartyVoter]

12. Just ask the Venusians.

[RestoreGore]

14. And according to the rapturists, this is God's will n/t

[dapper]

17. It is political...

This again is not a political issue
I know what you mean, it's should not be a political issue it should just be a very important issue to everyone.

I've been doing a good deal of research on GHG and Global Warming and I am amazed how politicized it is. In a way, I see good from it as everyone is looking for reasons why we are experiencing higher temperatures, stronger storms..etc. However, the 'in fighting' won't help. If one side of the political arena believes it is CO2, the other side will scoff at it. If the other believes it is from "Solar Flare-ups", the CO2 side will scoff back at it. and some of the scoffers have no clue other than to believe what other people on their side believes in.

Besides CO2, Methane is a very bad GHG. There was just an article out recently that state "Cattle" is giving off green house gases at an alarming rate, both CO2, Methane and some other gas I can't recall right now. I found it very hard to believe the percentages they gave, something like 35% of green house gases. My judgement tells me that the article incorrect. There was another article about Cosmic Rays by Nir Shaviv. I kept an open mind, saw other people who swear by it, others who can disprove his theory..etc...

One article called him a lead scientist in Egypt. Checking it out though, he was born in NY and has duel citizenship. He was a college professor in Toronto and now is a college professor in Egypt. Far from a leading scientist.

I like the debate but it seems strange to me how we cannot get all these various "experts" together to go over each others research and hash everything out. Is it just GHG? are their other factors? What can be done (the CO2/GHG group seems to be doing more than anyone to find out what is causing Global Warming)

I'm not expert, I can only go by my opinions. The GHG group is attempting to do something, even offering a 25 mil reward for someone to discover a way to remove CO2 from our environment. Another group is offering money to disprove CO2 causes damage... hmm, why would anyone want to offer money to disprove a theory?!?!?! Politics?

I use Alternative Fuels when I can, keep the thermostat set low, everything in my house is energy star. I'm going to start replacing my incacent (sp) light bulbs with ones that are friendlier to the environment... I'm hoping to plant some trees come spring and even trying to come up with a plan to plant some water plants in a nearby creek to reduce the chemicals that have poluted the water... is there anything else I can do for the environment? Let me know :-)

Dapper

[GliderGuider]

19. It's been done

I like the debate but it seems strange to me how we cannot get all these various "experts" together to go over each others research and hash everything out. Is it just GHG? are their other factors? What can be done (the CO2/GHG group seems to be doing more than anyone to find out what is causing Global Warming)

That's what the IPCC is all about. Their conclusion? The probability is over 90% that the warming we're seeing is due to man made CO2 and CH4. There is no real debate left on this subject. Read the summary report here (pdf warning)

[rman]

20. "get all these various "experts" together"

As Gliderguider points out, there is no controversy - unless you count PR bureaus and political hacks who do the bidding of large corporate interests (and do they make a lot of noise - money really does buy you almost anything).

One fact mentioned in Al Gore's docu is a study done of scientific articles on global warming: out of a large sample (a couple of thousand articles) *none* denies GW and human contribution to it.

[dapper]

21. Excuse my laziness- Things To Do

Is there any posting or sticky with information on what the General Public can do to lessen their impact/reduce CO2 and GHG's?

sorry for being lazy but it might be a good thing to have posted... again and again :-)

Dapper

[GliderGuider]

22. Here are three simple, high-impact actions you can take right now.

1. Stop driving a personal automobile
2. Stop traveling by airplane.
3. Stop eating meat.

If you do all those, you will be part of the solution rather than part of the precipitate.

[rman]

24. In other words, primarily: find a job close to home, or

a home close to your job.
Unfortunately for many people neither is a realistic option.

[GliderGuider]

26. Public transit is also an option.

I used to drive a BMW 540 to work every day. Now I have a diesel Jetta that mostly sits in the driveway, and I take the bus to work. It's amazing what that does for your carbon emissions.

In light of the findings by the FAO on GHG emissions from cattle, I think going veg would have a bigger impact on GHG emissions than most realize.

One other thing to do - sign up with a green supplier for your home electricity. Especially if you are in a region that gets a lot of its power from coal, this is a good idea.

[dapper]

30. My Gaseous Diet

I've been eating more fiber, nuts and less meats.
I lost about 10 pounds and feel great...

However, there is one thing.... I..uhh... I'VE GOT GAS!

So, when it comes to eating meat vs. not eating meat... I feel I'm giving off more GHG now than I ate more red meat.

Dapper

[The2ndWheel]

27. Wait, it's not going to be

easy to change a rapacious, relentlessly consuming death culture, with a taste for exterminating anyone or anything that stands in the way of its quest for a perfect, predictable, and efficient state?

Son of a...I was told different. I thought we could change things without actually changing them. We wouldn't have to give anything up. Everyone could have everything. Oh, damn, the death culture told me that. Wow, so it's not only ubiquitous, but clever too. Oh well, realistic thinking got us to this point, might as well stay with it.

[RestoreGore]

23. Some sites

Native Energy has much information on this topic and how to get started.

http://www.nativeenergy.com/

I like this site:

http://www.carbonfund.org/site/

And of course:

http://www.climatecrisis.org

And some tips:

Lessen or stop consumption of meat.

Look for organic foods and foods "home grown" in your market

Don't buy food with excess packaging.

Even checking the pressure of your tires and maintaining speed limits helps.

[GliderGuider]

28. Here's the expanded 10-point plan

Everyone likes 10-point lists, right?

What Can I Do?

[The2ndWheel]

25. "We are destroying our own life support system."

That's because we don't like it. It can kill us. That's why we have to control it, manipulate it, and finally destroy it to save ourselves.

Yes, yes, yes, I know, that sounds crazy, and that's where the problem is in our quest for perfection. If we ever reach perfection, we still can't stop improving on it. To stop would mean a loss of perfection, and progress says that just isn't allowable. That's why it sounds so crazy, because it is. But that's what our relentless drive for perfection has done to us.