The Other CO2 Problem
Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the 19th century, man has pumped billions of tons of carbon dioxide gas into the atmosphere. Today, we continue to emit approximately 2.2 million tons of CO2 a day. Although there are still quite a few skeptics amongst us, it is becoming ever more difficult to blame natural variation for these intense increases in carbon dioxide levels: Ice core and sediment samples indicate that we need to go back almost 15 million years to see CO2 levels as high as what we have today. Furthermore, evidence gathered not only from ice core samples, but also from tree rings, corals, sediments, caves and history all prove that we have not only increased global temperatures 1°C since in the last century, but also that there has been no increases like this in the last 1000 years. We are now familiar with the consequences of this act, as words like “global warming” or “climate change” dominate the top of many of our environmentalist’s lists. Unfortunately, not as much attention has been focused on the other CO2 problem: Ocean Acidification.
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Atmospheric CO2 levels in past 20 million years. Atmospheric CO2 Variation Since 1000 AD. |