Originally published on the CGS blog on May 16, 2013.
Last week, planet earth reached a landmark! CO2 emissions exceeded 400 parts per million. So why aren’t scientists celebrating? Well, this is nothing to celebrate. Al Gore expressed a common sentiment among global warming sympathizers, tweeting that the event was “a sad milestone.” Action must be taken to reduce carbon emissions and the burning of fossil fuels.
The Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii has been monitoring CO2 emissions since 1958. On Thursday, May 10th, it released a report that stated a new, unprecedented level of CO2 had been recorded in the atmosphere. Carbon Dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in our atmosphere and has been linked to rising temperatures, ice melting and sea level rising.
We need to signal to governments around the world that action must be taken to reduce the burning of fossil fuels. The Rio Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1992 and the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 attempted to hold governments responsible for pursuing policy aimed at clean energy and reducing carbon emissions. However, the United States did not sign onto that agreement. In addition, other rapidly industrializing nations such as India and China disregarded the suggested regulations. The consequences of our reliance on fossil fuels are severe. Super-storms such as Hurricane Katrina and Tropical Storm Sandy have impacted the United States with devastating human, environmental and financial loss. Watch this video produced by Climate Reality to find out the true cost of Carbon.
Reaching this “sad milestone” is discouraging. Mark Pagani, a Yale geochemist and paleoclimatologist, told The New York Times. “I feel like the time to do something was yesterday.” However, organizations like GlobalSolutions.org and 350.org are committed to reducing carbon emissions.
