Global warming is mainly the result of CO2 levels rising in the Earth’s atmosphere. Both atmospheric CO2 and climate change are accelerating. Climate scientists say we have years, not decades, to stabilize CO2 and other greenhouse gases.
To help the world succeed, CO2Now.org makes it easy to see the most current CO2 level and what it means. So, use this site and keep an eye on CO2. Invite others to do the same. Then we can do more to send CO2 in the right direction.
Watch CO2 now and know the score on global warming, practically in real time.
Earth Systems Research Laboratory (ESRL) / National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)
Why is CO2 significant?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) is the chief greenhouse gas that results from human activities and causes global warming and climate change. To see whether enough is being done at the moment to solve these global problems, there is no single indicator as complete and current as the monthly updates for atmospheric CO2 from the Mauna Loa Observatory.
The world's most current data for atmospheric CO2 is from measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. These high-precision measurements were started by Dave Keeling (shown in the photo) in March 1958.
Today, the monthly average concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is published by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) within a week after each month ends. The source data is organized into a table and republished here at CO2Now.org so more people can see the latest CO2 level and the important CO2trend. The table includes the full Mauna Loa instrument record for atmospheric CO2.
In 2009, the average concentration for atmospheric CO2 (Mauna Loa Observatory) was 387.35 parts per million (ppm). In 2008, it was 385.57 ppm.
Since the 1958 start of precise CO2 measurements in the atmosphere, the annual mean concentration of CO2 has only increased from one year to the next. There have been no decreases in annual CO2 levels since direct instrument measurements began. The following CO2 data provides a snapshot of the longest-running, high-precision instrument record for atmospheric CO2:
Earth more sensitive to CO2 than previously thought
December 7, 2009 SCIENCE DAILY – In the long term, the Earth's temperature may be 30-50% more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide than has previously been estimated, reports a new study published in Nature Geoscience. Alan Haywood, a co-author on the study from the University of Leeds, said "If we want to avoid dangerous climate change, this high sensitivity of the Earth to carbon dioxide should be taken into account when defining targets for the long-term stabilisation of atmospheric greenhouse-gas concentrations." >>>> Read the full article in Science Daily.
Journal Reference | Daniel J. Lunt, Alan M. Haywood, Gavin A. Schmidt, Ulrich Salzmann, Paul J. Valdes and Harry J. Dowsett. Earth system sensitivity inferred from Pliocene modelling and data. Nature Geoscience, 6 December 2009.
Welcome to Earth's first video log about atmospheric CO2, the worldwide impacts, what needs to be done, and concrete examples of what people are doing to turn things around. Starting on Earth Day 2009, at least one CO2 Speaker’s Corner video is being featured here on the home page of CO2Now.org.
Speaker’s Corner videos are also posted to YouTube.com/user/co2speakerscorner and Vimeo.com/channels/co2, with an open invitation to post your own video in reply. The CO2 Speaker’s Corner is moderated by Michael McGee, creator of CO2Now.org. Contact Michael at speakerscorner@CO2now.org to exchange ideas or get help uploading the video you would like to be seen far and wide.
In this photo, you are looking at the solar panels that power the CO2Now.org website. The panels take the sun's energy and create the electricity that powers the web servers inside the AISO data center that is visible behind the panels. Energy is also stored in batteries so the electrical power is available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.
The world's most current data for atmospheric CO2 is from measurements at the Mauna Loa Observatory in Hawaii. These high-precision measurements were started by Dave Keeling (shown in the photo) in March 1958. 
December 7, 2009 SCIENCE DAILY – In the long term, the Earth's temperature may be 30-50% more sensitive to atmospheric carbon dioxide than has previously been estimated, reports a new study published in Nature Geoscience. 
