Today's scare articles about the level of carbon dioxide reaching 400 parts per million are incredibly misleading. It is true certainly that the measurement was reached at one station in Hawaii for one day. What is not true, however, is that this is the result of human activity. This is the part of the story that usually gets skipped in the media. Here are the actual facts:
Only 3% of all carbon dioxide added to the atmospere each day is the result of human activity. The other 97% comes from natural causes. Nearly all that 97% comes from gas ejected from the oceans which circle the planet. The amount of carbon dioxide coming out of the oceans has been rising in recent decades. Were humans to freeze their carbon dioxide emissions, the level of the gas in the atmosphere would continue to rise. Were humans to cut emissions by ten percent, a much more aggressive goal than has ever been set, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would continue to rise. The truth is that the increase in CO2 levels is coming from the oceans, not from man.
Another key fact is that carbon dioxide emissions coming from the United States have fallen dramatically over the last 15 years. The USA did not approve the Kyoto agreements with regard to cutting CO2 emissions. Strangely, however, the USA seems to be just about the only nation on earth which is on track to meet the goals of the Kyoto accord. The biggest reason for the cut in emissions in America has been the switch to natural gas as a fuel. That's right, the very same natural gas that the environmentalists now are trying to stop is the reason that the USA is about to meet the Kyoto goals while no other nation does.
Only 3% of all carbon dioxide added to the atmospere each day is the result of human activity. The other 97% comes from natural causes. Nearly all that 97% comes from gas ejected from the oceans which circle the planet. The amount of carbon dioxide coming out of the oceans has been rising in recent decades. Were humans to freeze their carbon dioxide emissions, the level of the gas in the atmosphere would continue to rise. Were humans to cut emissions by ten percent, a much more aggressive goal than has ever been set, the level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would continue to rise. The truth is that the increase in CO2 levels is coming from the oceans, not from man.
Another key fact is that carbon dioxide emissions coming from the United States have fallen dramatically over the last 15 years. The USA did not approve the Kyoto agreements with regard to cutting CO2 emissions. Strangely, however, the USA seems to be just about the only nation on earth which is on track to meet the goals of the Kyoto accord. The biggest reason for the cut in emissions in America has been the switch to natural gas as a fuel. That's right, the very same natural gas that the environmentalists now are trying to stop is the reason that the USA is about to meet the Kyoto goals while no other nation does.
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