Atmospheric CO2 – May 22, 2019

Atmospheric CO2 – May 22, 2019

A few weeks ago, Ricardo and I were on the Big Island of Hawaii, hiking Mauna Kea for the “Summits, Songs and Science” project. We also had time to explore Mauna Loa, including seeing the observatory where scientists have been measuring atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) since 1958. At that time, CO2 levels were around 315 parts per million (ppm). By the year 2013 (55 years later), the number had surpassed 400 ppm. Just a few weeks ago, we hit 415 ppm of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. What’s the big deal? The rate of rise is accelerating and “the amount of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere has officially surpassed levels seen in the entirety of human history, topping the highest point previously recorded in 800,000 years of data by more than 100 ppm.”