CO2 emissions accelerate 400% as world turns to dirtier fuelsWith emissions growth accelerating 400 percent this decade, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels rose at a record clip in 2007, reports the Global Carbon Project's annual overview of the greenhouse gas.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations climbed 2.2 parts-per-million (ppm) in 2007 to 383 ppm. Since 2000 CO2 levels have risen 2 ppm annually, compared with 1.5 ppm during the 1990s, 1.6 ppm in the 1980s, and 1.3 ppm in the 1970s. Rising CO2 levels are the direct result of human activities, including fossil fuel combustion, cement production, and deforestation. The Global Carbon Project's (GCP) report shows that emissions from fossil fuels and cement have increased 3.5 percent per year since 2000, after increasing at a rate of 0.9 percent during the 1990s. The rate of emissions growth exceeds the highest estimates put forth by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). China is the largest industrial emitter of carbon dioxide (i.e. excluding emissions from deforestation), followed by the United States, E.U. countries, Russia, and India. ... - mon
despite years of effort, carbon dioxide emissions are increasing at an alarming rate of 3.5% a year– faster than the 2.7% predicted by the IPCC in their worst case scenario, and miles ahead of the 0.9% annual rise in the 1990s. Worst still, current measures have been based on a middle-ground IPCC scenario. Pep Candell from the Global Carbon Budget told me that this was “astonishing”. For the first time, we have hit 10 billion tonnes of carbon emitted annually. The other thing to note is that China and India are galumphing their way up the table of biggest carbon dioxide emitters. Ten years ago the top four were: USA, China, Russia, Japan. Today that list reads: China, USA, Russia, India – and I am assured by Candell that next year India will have jumped into third place. - nature.com
Friday, September 26, 2008
World CO2 emission levels at record, up 400%. China is #1.
Prepare for some wild weather.
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2 comments:
Birth control in the water for the next fifty years for all countries. Bring the earth's human population down to 1 billion. Better than a war.
If that is already being done, its certainly not working here in the UK. The current baby boom is occurring despite it being a credit crisis.
Xeno, I dont actually see any problem in theory with your idea. The truth is people are living longer and theres more of them. Obviously everyone should be entitled to a decent quality of life, however the more people there are, the less possible it is.
There will certainly be a human rights issue around the water issue, and Im sure that would get many people "up on a soap box", but unfortunately we dont live in the "pink & fluffy" world these protesters think we do. We have to make hard decisions, and the fact is, if the population increases, so will poverty and starvation & indeed pollution.
Id rather prevent people from having kids (if thats decided whats needed) instead of any other population control methods (which frankly are frightening)
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