We knew that some of you would surely suffer withdrawal symptoms if you had to wait too long for PART TWO of this article, so as a reader service to y'all, we present it now instead of later. For those who really need to go "back" all the way, you can do so here.
CO2! A GAS TO BE RECKONED WITH PART 2
Yes, we're back and would like to start off with some "facts" which we think most scientists would agree upon:
* The Earth gets rid of heat from the sun in the form of "infrared radiation" (another term for "heat") which finds its way back up into outer space.
*CO2 is a gas in the atmosphere which partially blocks infrared radiation. It traps heat attempting to escape the lower atmosphere, thereby contributing to the "greenhouse effect"-- that already existing phenomenon (caused mostly by water vapor) which keeps the earth from freezing up like a ice cube. We humans currently pump out about 30 billion tons of CO2 per year.
* The Mauna Loa Observatory (at 11,000 ft. on Mona Loa in Hawaii) is a widely cited source for recent CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Mona Loa is far away from urban centers, and has been measuring CO2 in the atmosphere on a monthly basis since 1958. Measurements elsewhere tend to agree with those taken at Mona Loa.
*Over the period of 1958 to 2008, CO2 concentration in the atmosphere has increased (many would say dramatically) from about 320 ppm to about 385 ppm. PPM stands for parts per million.
So those, we think are some of the basics.
Even though we are getting used to bigger numbers these days, the one million of something maybe still be a bit hard to visualize. So (as Roy Spencer suggests in his book Climate Confusion) let's think in terms of 100,000, or a tenth of one million. According to the Mona Loa measurements, we now see that for every 100,000 molecules of atmosphere:
* 32 of those molecules were CO2 in 1958
* 38.5 of those molecules are CO2 today
That's about a 6.5 molecule increase in the last 50 years, or roughly 1 molecule per 100,000 every seven to eight years. Here's our small attempt at a parable:
Once upon a time a college built a stadium holding 100,000 people. In the early days fans for the home team numbered 99,968; for the visitors only 32 fans showed. In those days the home team won just about every game. Over the years 6.5 more visitor fans trickled in (actually six adults and one child) displacing an additional 6.5 of the home team fans. And somehow these six and one half new fans were able to yell so loud (and influence the games in other ways) to the point where visiting teams were greatly empowered. The result: The home team now routinely lost most of its games, throwing the whole sports program into a shambles. And predictions said the worst was yet to come.
But (you are about to shout--and well you should) what about all this 30 billion tons of CO2 we humans are pumping out every year? 30 billion ain't peanuts! To put this in a somewhat better perspective, we need to understand that, using the same measurement techniques to determine the 30 billion tons, the total atmosphere weighs in at around 5 quadrillion tons. That's 5,000,000,000,000,000 tons. And so despite all our worst efforts, CO2 still represents only about 0.03 percent (that's three 100ths hundreds of 1 %) of what's up there. In scientific terms it is still considered a "trace gas".
Carbon offset folks (such as Carbonfund) are happy to take your money and (after paying salaries and benefits for staff) use the rest to mitigate carbon generation. One such firm calculates that a single person living in a small house and driving a small car creates roughly seven tons of carbon a year. A ton is 2000 lbs. and sounds like a lot. These people will suggest that $100 (give or take) from you can enable them to eliminate (or forestall) seven tons of carbon generation somewhere else, and thereby keep you guilt-free for a year. We're not saying you shouldn't feel guilty about your personal carbon footprint if you want to. After all, it's a free country. But given the minute impact of your carbon output in the overall scheme of things, we suggest that only a teeny weeny bit of guilt would be fine. Certainly nowhere near as much guilt as you should feel about some of those other stunts you pull (and you know which ones we mean).
So friends, that's our attempt to describe and quantify this gassy CO2 villain which is ever uppermost in our thoughts these days, inspires the big "fight", galvanizes politicians employs thousands, pits Albany against Berkeley, and costs billions--resources which might be better spent fighting world hunger, funding third-world development, and solving some of the other real, present, and clearly-defined world problems that we can actually do something about. Maybe some at the local level as well.
Are the glaciers melting? Yes. Is Artic ice going away? Seems so. Is the world getting warmer? Probably a little warmer. Is manmade CO2 truly the main culprit behind these and other changes in our climate and our world? We only ask the questions. The answers are up to you.
Down for graphs
