Carbon Dioxide Is At Its Highest Level in 800,000 Years

(This image is from allamericanenviro.com.)

Donald Trump and his Republican cohorts are still denying the reality of global warming (global climate change). But that doesn't mean it's not happening. July was the hottest month ever recorded, and greenhouse gases continue to build up and have a disastrous effect on this planet -- with the main greenhouse gas (carbon dioxide) reaching a level that has not happened in the last 800,000 years.

Are we close to the tipping point -- the point at which any efforts to stop or mitigate any damage from global warming would be useless? I don't know, but the warming continues -- and it's happening faster than the scientists had predicted. It is imperative that we act soon.

Consider this article by Jordan Davidson at EcoWatch:

A bleak new federal report found that carbon dioxide in the atmosphere rose to levels the world has not seen in at least 800,000 years, highlighting the irreversible and mounting deleterious effects of human activity on the planet, as ABC News reported.

Global carbon dioxide concentrations reached a record of 407.4 parts per million during 2018, the study found. That is 2.4 ppm greater than 2017 and "the highest in the modern instrumental record and in ice core records dating back 800,000 years," the report said, according to CNN.

It wasn't just the amount of carbon dioxide that set record levels. Other greenhouse gases like methane and nitrous oxide also continued a rapid rise into the atmosphere.

Together, the global warming power of greenhouse gases was 43 percent stronger than in 1990, according to the State of the Climate report released Monday by the American Meteorological Society, a division of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Information.

Greenhouse gases are not the only thing rising. Global sea levels also reached their highest levels on record for the seventh consecutive year, as ABC News reported. The report says that ocean levels are rising about an inch per decade, but that number may need to be revised if ice melt at the poles accelerates.

For global temperatures, 2018 ranked fourth, behind 2016, 2015 and 2017 for the warmest on record. That top four finish for 2018 is despite a La Niña system over the Pacific that cooled ocean waters for part of the year.

So far, 2019 is on track to be the warmest year in recorded history, according to NOAA.
Global sea temperatures also set a record level in 2018. "This record heat reflects the continuing accumulation of thermal energy in the top 2,300 feet (700 meters) of the ocean," according to NOAA. "Oceans absorb more than 90 percent of Earth's excess heat from global warming."

The State of the Climate report noted that glaciers continued to melt at an alarming rate for the 30th consecutive year, as CNN reported.

"Every year since the start of the 21st Century has been warmer than the 1981-2010 average," the report said, as CNN reported. "In 2018, the dominant greenhouse gases released into Earth's atmosphere — carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide — continued to increase and reach new record highs."

The 29th annual release of the State of the Climate report was led by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information and relies on contributions from more than 470 scientists from nearly 60 countries around the world. It incorporates tens of thousands of measurements from multiple independent datasets and provides a detailed update on global climate indicators and notable weather events, according to NOAA.

"This is yet another in a series of expert, science-based reports that continue to sound the alarm about the climate crisis," said Marshall Shepherd, a professor of geography and atmospheric sciences at the University of Georgia and former president of the American Meteorological Society, to CNN. "[The] DNA of climate change is clearly seen now in our weather, agriculture productivity, water supply challenges, public health, and even national security concern."

"The findings from their State of the Climate report rise above some blog or opinion on social media," Shepherd added. "Through the process of science, they are sounding an alarm about the 'here-and-now' climate crises."

Public Opposes Trump's Overturning Of Clean Air Regs

President Obama signed the Paris Accord to reduce global warming, and then issued an executive order that would have reduced carbon dioxide emissions from power plants by 1/3 in the next 13 years. Donald Trump has reversed course for this country. He has withdrawn the U.S. from the Paris Accords and issued orders negating the Clean Air Initiative of President Obama.

But it turns out that, once again, Trump is acting in opposition to the wishes of a majority of Americans. About 56% of the public favors keeping the Obama regulations to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 1/3, while only 33% opposed those regulations. Trump may be making his base happy, but he is hurting himself with the general population.

The chart reflects the result of a new Rasmussen Poll -- done on October 10th and 11th of a random national sample of 1,000 likely voters, with a 3 point margin of error.

Global Warming Gets Worse While Our Politicians Ignore It

The chart above should scare anyone who wants a livable planets for their descendants. For the first time in human history, we are experiencing a year in which carbon dioxide (the predominant greenhouse gas) will stay above 400 parts per million for the entire year. It normally has its lowest point in September, but it stayed above 400ppm this September -- and it's likely that we will not see it ever dip below that level anytime in the future.

2016 was already on target to be the hottest year since weather records have been kept, and this level of carbon dioxide insure it will keep getting hotter. World leaders have designated 3.6 degrees F as the level which cannot be exceeded with serious damage to our environment. We are already at about 2.7 degrees F.

Can we keep the level down to no more than 3.6 degrees F? Some think the increase in carbon dioxide will not allow that. One thing we do know is that we are running out of time. Meanwhile our politicians do nothing more than debate whether global climate change is real (a fact already accepted by 97% of scientists).

If we are not already at the tipping point, we are getting very close to it -- the point at which disaster cannot be averted. The time for debate is over. It is time for ACTION!

Carbon Dioxide At A Dangerous Level

It's a good thing that the Republicans have been booted from power. For years, they have been denying the reality of global climate change due to the burning of fossil fuels, in an effort to protect the profits of their corporate masters. According to a team of international scientists, this inaction has already pushed carbon dioxide levels to a dangerous level.

Scientists had previously believed that the danger level would be reached later in the century, but the team of ten scientists from the United States, the United Kingdom and France have published an article in the Open Atmosphere Science Journal that says their revaluation of data shows we have already reached a dangerous level. The team is headed by Dr. James Hansen, director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies.

The carbon dioxide in our planet's atmosphere has reached a level of 385 parts per million, and is currently rising at a rate of 2 ppm per year. This is a high enough level to cause serious climactic changes that could expand desertification, increase food shortages, increase the intensity of storms, destroy coral reefs, and cause the disappearance of mountain glaciers that hundreds of millions of people depend on as their source of water.

How long is it before we reach a point of no return? That's impossible to know. As Dr. Hansen says, "It's like the economy, it's a non-linear problem. You knew, given the continued input of big deficit spending that things would go to pot, but nobody could predict the time of collapse with any confidence. We had better start reducing emissions soon and get back below 350 ppm within several decades -- otherwise I doubt that the ice sheets can stand such a long strong pressure."

One thing the scientists are sure of is that it's no longer enough just to stop the increase in carbon dioxide levels. The levels are already at a level that will cause serious climactic disruption. We must start immediately to act to reduce the carbon dioxide to below 350 ppm.

They are recommending that all coal-fired power plants be phased out by 2030 (only 22 years from now). This obviously means it would be foolhardy to build any new coal-fired plants (as is currently planned in Texas and many other parts of this country). They also think a substantial reforestation program must immediately be initiated.

Thank goodness the Republicans can no longer delay a response to the dangerous levels of carbon dioxide. I know that President Obama and the Democrats will now take action. I just hope that action is substantial enough to cure the problem, rather than insufficient cosmetic changes.

Further delay, or a moderate response, are no longer viable options.

Power Plants Increase Pollution Again

It is a fact that power plants, which number about 1000, produce about one/third of the greenhouse gas, carbon dioxide, that is dumped into our air each year. That's about 2 billion tons of pollution each year. That's a huge amount of pollution for just one industry to be responsible for.

Since he's been in office, Bush has done nothing to try and rein in this pollution by the huge energy companies. In the pitiful energy bill recently passed, it called for automobiles to be more efficient, but Bush made it clear he would veto anything that called for cuts in emissions by the power companies.

The new figures show how little is being asked of these companies. Last year, power plants increased their pollution output by 2.9% (even though the demand for electricity grew only 2.3%). That's about another 60 million tons of carbon dioxide they dumped into the atmosphere, over and above the amount they were already producing.

We have reached the point where something must be done about the production of greenhouse gases. Frankly, an industry that produces one/third of these gases each year can no longer be ignored or exempted. The power companies must be forced to clean up their act.

Instead of producing an additional 60 million tons of pollutants each year in addition to the 2 billion tons they already produce, it is time for them to start reducing the amount of these gases each year.

Of course, Texas still leads the nation in power plant pollution. The top five states in power plant pollution are:

1. Texas (262 million tons)

2. Ohio (138.6 million tons)

3. Florida (134.5 million tons)

4. Indiana (132 million tons)

5. Pennsylvania (123.6 million tons)

Texas Leads Nation In Carbon Dioxide Emissions

It shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone, but Texas still leads the nation in the production of greenhouse gases, especially carbon dioxide. Last year, Texas produced 670 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. (Each metric ton contains 2,204.6 pounds of pollution.)

Texas produces so much more pollution that the second place state (California) produces 281 million metric tons less carbon dioxide than Texas does. Here are the top ten polluting states in millions of metric tons:

1. Texas -- 670

2. California -- 389

3. Pennsylvania -- 271

4. Ohio -- 266

5. Florida -- 244

6. Indiana -- 235

7. Illinois -- 230

8. New York -- 214

9. Michigan -- 185

10. Louisiana -- 179

Those should be some pretty embarrassing numbers for Texans. Even California and New York don't produce near the pollution that Texas does. There is only one reason for this. The Texas Republican party has put corporate profits above Texans' health and the nation's environment.

I know some of you might be thinking that Texas has a pretty large population, and our pollution numbers probably would look better when considered per capita. But even divided per capita, Texas does only slightly better, producing 30 metric tons per person (the national average is 20). Here are the top ten states per capita:

1. Wyoming -- 125

2. North Dakota -- 80

3. Alaska -- 69

4. West Virginia -- 63

5. Louisiana -- 40

6. Indiana -- 38

7. Montana -- 36

8. Kentucky -- 35

9. New Mexico -- 31

10. Texas -- 30

Texas produces 30 metric tons (or 66,138 pounds) of pollution for each person living in the state. Isn't it time to elect some officials that will clean this mess up?