The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii recorded its first-ever carbon dioxide reading in excess of 410 parts per million.
Credit: Sharloch Flickr
The world just passed another round-numbered climate milestone. Scientists predicted it would happen this year and lo and behold, it has.
On Tuesday, the Mauna Loa Observatory recorded its first-ever carbon dioxide reading in excess of 410 parts per million (it was 410.28 ppm in case you want the full deal). Carbon dioxide hasn’t reached that height in millions of years. It’s a new atmosphere that humanity will have to contend with, one that’s trapping more heat and causing the climate to change at a quickening rate.
In what’s become a spring tradition like Passover and Easter, carbon dioxide has set a record high each year since measurements began. It stood at 280 ppm when record keeping began at Mauna Loa in 1958. In 2013, it passed 400 ppm. Just four years later, the 400 ppm mark is no longer a novelty. It’s the norm.
“Its pretty depressing that it’s only a […]
Water vapor is a greenhouse gas that can be up to 100 times the concentration of CO2. CO2 is plant food.
Higher concentrations of CO2 in the atmosphere are not a benefit to plants. This is a myth. It has to be in balance with other nutrients and available water. Even if there were some benefits to higher CO2 concentrations, they would be in the short-term and overall negative effects of global warming will certainly wipe-out them out.