The concentration of CO2 levels in the atmosphere has reached a record high according to new figures that renew suspicions that climate change is rapidly spinning out of control.
At Mauna Loa observatory in Hawaii, scientists who have been studying climate change recently found the CO2 levels in the atmosphere are now standing at 387 parts per million (ppm), up 40% since the industrial revolution.
Carbon Dioxide is released into the atmosphere by the burning of wood, coal, oil and gas. The increase in the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is of important to keep under control because CO2 is a significant heat trapping greenhouse gas.
According to the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, CO2 is accumulating in the atmosphere at a faster rate than was recently predicted. The annual average growth rate in 2007 was 2.14ppm. This is a noticeable increase since 1970 to 2000 when the concentration rose by 1.5ppm each year.
Scientists fear the Earth could be losing its ability to soak up the millions of tonnes of CO2 each year. The original thought that half of the emissions would be soaked up by forests and oceans is now considered too optimistic. The reality of the situation is if carbon emissions stay in the atmosphere, it means they will have to be cut by a drastic amount to avoid threatening levels of global warming.
Martin Parry,co-chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's working group on impacts, said: "Despite all the talk, the situation is getting worse. Levels of greenhouse gases continue to rise in the atmosphere and the rate of that rise is accelerating. We are already seeing the impacts of climate change and the scale of those impacts will also accelerate, until we decide to do something about it." (Quoted in The Guardian)
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This post was written by Christine Pinella on May 18, 2008