Atmospheric CO2 Concentration Hits New Record - BBC

[hatrack]

"The atmospheric concentration of the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide has reached a new high, say US researchers. The figures - 378 parts per million (ppm) - were gathered by a Hawaiian lab regarded by experts as one of the most reliable in climate research.

The rise in the past year is smaller than it was in the previous two years. But the trend remains upwards, as it has for every year since measurements began on top of the Mauna Loa volcano nearly half a century ago.

The research was carried out by the US government's Climate Monitoring Diagnostics Laboratory, part of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa).

The laboratory's director, Dr Pieter Tans, told the BBC: "The most striking thing about the data is that we've seen an increase in carbon dioxide levels every single year since 1958."

EDIT

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4395817.stm

[LiberalEsto]

1. Everybody, hold your breath

as long as you can!

[slor]

2. Time to grow Hemp folks...

it will help mitigate some of that, and if it does not, well, just grow a lil' cannabis sativa with that, and it may make the end a little less painful.

[babylonsister]

3. Got seeds?

:evilgrin:

[whistle]

6. Hemp will grow on roof tops, mountain slopes, sandy beaches

...and even in dry areas where little rain falls. What is stopping agriculture from growing a low THC yield varieties for the bio-fuel production?

[Dogmudgeon]

8. Hemp is a carbon source

It adds to global warming, y'know.

--p!

[whistle]

4. Could this be in part due to the destruction of millions of acres

...of rainforests around the world? (Brazil, Africa, Southern Asia)

[phantom power]

5. and other things.

The ocean is warming, so it holds less dissolved gas. Permafrost is thawing, and it turns out that releases CO2. And we're burning fossil hydrocarbons at a steadily increasing rate.

[seasat]

7. But but the increase in CO2 is shutting down calcification.

That means that the ocean can absorb more CO2 so it'll all be okay. Who needs coral reefs and oysters? (sarcasm off)

I heard a talk on this and (not being a coral reef expert) actually thought it would lessen the CO2 uptake by the ocean. It'll actually increase it since less uptake of carbonate ions by organisms will allow more dissolution of atmospheric CO2. Of course this is at the expense of the global coral reefs and any shellfish in the ocean. It also means that a lot of phytoplankton that won't handle the pH change due to increased carbonic acid. The loss of phytoplankton combined with a loss of long term storage by califying organism would limit a biological method of removing carbon from the atmosphere and putting it into long term storage(IMHO). I doubt the other critters in the sea will appreciate the more acidic ocean either.