CO2 Now

@mospheric Post is produced twice monthly by Pro Oxygen and distributed earthwide by CO2Now.org 

January 7, 2011   
Year 2 | Edition 1

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Atmospheric CO2 data in this publication was released January 7, 2011 by NOAA-ESRL.
Data for periods within the last year are preliminary.

Monthly Data for Atmospheric CO2

Accelerating Rise of Atmospheric CO2 

* Rates of change are calculated with Mauna Loa CO2 data released by NOAA-ESRL and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

CO2 Data Source

Via CO2Now  |  Monthly & Annual CO2 Data from NOAA-ESRL & Scripps

The Full Edition is available at:
Current Edition:   The CO2Now Climate Sheet   
Current & Past Editions:  About The CO2Now Climate Sheet

See the Full Edition of The CO2Now Climate Sheet

Recent articles, papers and reports.
From around the world.
About our world.

Solutions in the Atmosphere

SolveClimate  |  Qantas Nears £200m Biojet Fuel Joint Venture

The Australian airline Qantas will this month announce a deal to build the world's second commercial-scale plant to produce green biojet fuel made from waste for its fleet of aircraft.

Economics

 The Economics Of Happiness  |  Website 

The Economics of Happiness describes a world moving simultaneously in two opposing directions. On the one hand, government and big business continue to promote globalization and the consolidation of corporate power. At the same time, all around the world people are resisting those policies, demanding a re-regulation of trade and finance—and, far from the old institutions of power, they’re starting to forge a very different future. Communities are coming together to re-build more human scale, ecological economies based on a new paradigm – an economics of localization.

Yale Environment 360  |  Calculating the true cost of global climate change

Regardless of the role played by economists in the global warming debate, the view that climate change is not to be feared has contributed to the delay in the world’s response.

Temperature

Climate Wire  |  A super-cold winter amid global warming

Unusual cold in places like Florida actually could be a sign of global warming, rather than an argument against it. Disappearance of sea ice in the Arctic influences atmospheric pressure that in turn controls jet streams of cold air.

Food & Agriculture

NY Times  |  Extreme weather drives up food prices

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization announced this week that food prices hit a record high last month. Its Food Price Index was 214.7 for December, the highest level since the organization created the index to measure the price of a standard basket of goods in 1990.

Science  |  To fight global warming, eat bugs

Meat consumption presents a big environmental problem: Cows and pigs are good sources of protein, but they also belch carbon dioxide and methane. One way to reduce such emissions while maintaining a nutritious diet may be to get people to eat more cricket burgers and mealworm patties.

Business Week  |  Study: No-till farming reduces greenhouse gas

No-till farming, in which farmers don't plow under their fields between crops, releases far smaller amounts of a potent greenhouse gas into the air than conventional farming, according to a new study that suggests no-till may help combat global warming.

Climate Communications

Climate Progress  |  Media coverage of climate change “fell off the map” in 2010

The danger posed to the nation and the world by unrestricted emissions of greenhouse gases is truly the greatest story never told.   We had jaw-dropping science in 2010.  We had gripping climatic disasters.  And we even had major political theater.  But, as we’ll see, the one-time paper of record didn’t have climate change in a single one of its largest lead headlines.

LA Times  |  Scientist on the compatibility of conservatism and belief in climate change  

MIT professor Kerry Emanuel is among a rare breed of conservative scientists who are sounding the alarm for climate change and criticizing Republicans' 'agenda of denial' and 'anti-science stance.'

Nature  |  Why dire climate warnings boost scepticism

The use of dire predictions to encourage action on climate change may be backfiring and increasing doubt that greenhouse gases from human activities are causing global warming.

Climate Research Tool

Skeptical Science  |  An online tool for the IPCC 4th Assessment Report

Miloslav Nic, an organic chemist, introduces the searchable database he created for almost every peer-reviewed paper referenced in the Fourth Assessment Report (2007) of the International Panel on Climate Change.  Read the post, or go directly to the tool at Nic’s website, Zvon.org.

Oceans

Science Daily  |  Ocean Acidification Changes Nitrogen Cycling in World Seas

Increasing acidity in the sea's waters may fundamentally change how nitrogen is cycled in them, say marine scientists who published their findings in this week's issue of the journal Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS).

Agence France-Presse  |  Scientists find 'drastic' weather-related Atlantic shifts

Scientists have found evidence of a "drastic" shift since the 1970s in north Atlantic Ocean currents that usually influence weather in the northern hemisphere, Swiss researchers said on Tuesday.

CO2 Pathways

The Wonk Room  |  US Energy Information Administration Projects Climate Catastrophe

The US Energy Information Administration has projected that the United States will lead the world into catastrophic global warming over the next twenty five years. In its 2011 Annual Energy Outlook, the EIA predicts that energy-related CO2 emissions will “grow by 16 percent from 2009 to 2035,” reaching 6.3 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (or 1.7 GtC)

Fossil Fuels

Climate Progress |  Deutsche Bank calls coal “a dead man walking”

Deutsche Bank predicts coal’s share of electric power generation will tumble further, from 47 percent in 2009 to 34 percent in 2020 and 22 percent in 2030. 

Industry

Mother Jones  |  The oil industry's New Year's resolution

The American Petroleum Institute, which last year called congressional efforts to curb climate changing emissions, among other things, "a giant tax," a "job killer," and "fundamentally flawed," is now begging for Congress to take action—to stop the Environmental Protection Agency from regulating those emissions.

2010 In Review

The Age  |  The deadly decade

The past 10 years have been the hottest since measurements began, and climate scientists have long warned of the extreme weather still to come. 

@mospheric Post is an independent, volunteer-driven publication that is produced in Canada by Pro Oxygen, the maker of CO2Now.org. Pro Oxygen distributes @mospheric Post as a free information service for the advancement of climate literacy . . . starting with awareness of atmospheric CO2 and what it means.  

Twice a month, @mospheric Post delivers the global numbers earthwide – straight from the atmosphere and virtually in real time. It also gives you access to the latest targets, reports and stories about our world, from around the world. Consider it your online source for getting the straight goods and the big picture on humanity's main environmental challenges. 

If you would like to give feedback or a suggestion – or to make a correction – you are welcome to email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Subscribe to @mospheric Post

@mospheric Post is produced twice monthly by Pro Oxygen and distributed earthwide by CO2Now.org

December 28, 2010   
Year 1 | Edition 2

Subscribe 

Global temperature data in this publication was released December 28, 2010 by the
NOAA National Climatic Data Center.   Data for time periods within the past year are preliminary.

Global Temperature Synopsis   

More details about global temperature are available in the monthly State of the Climate reports (Global Analysis) that are produced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration in the USA.  These reports present preliminary, global data that has been gathered from monitoring stations and leading institutions around the world. 

The reports include a Global Hazards section that gives a global update on drought & wildfires, flooding, storms, severe winter weather, and ecosystems impacts.  A Snow and Ice section reports on snow cover in the Northern Hemisphere and sea ice extent in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.  

Additional Links:

See the Full Edition of The CO2Now Climate Sheet

Recent articles, papers and reports. 
From around the world.
About our world.

2010 WRAP UP

Climate Progress  |  Stunning year in climate science shows civilization on the precipice

For those interested in the real climate science story of the past year, let’s review a couple dozen studies of the most important findings

GLOBAL TEMPERATURE

NYT Blog  |  2010 on Pace to Be Warmest on Record, NASA Says 

An analysis of average global temperatures through November by NASA’s Goddard Institute for Space Studies shows 2010 on pace to become the warmest year since the collection of temperature data began 130 years ago. NASA previously ranked 2005 as its warmest year ever.

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT THE THE KEELING CURVE?

NY Times  |  A scientist, his work and a climate reckoning

Perhaps the biggest reason the world learned of the risk of global warming was the unusual personality of a single American scientist….Charles David Keeling….But the essence of his scientific legacy was his passion for doing things in a meticulous way. It explains why, even as challengers try to pick apart every other aspect of climate science, his half-century record of carbon dioxide measurements stands unchallenged.

NY Times  |  Your piece of the Keeling Curve

“To me, it is kind of sobering to think that every pound of carbon that is emitted because I do something — drive a car or take an airplane or turn on a light — is going to influence the climate for a thousand years,” Dr. Solomon told me. “I actually take the bus more often now. That’s a personal choice.”

NY Times  |  Does the Keeling Curve Still Need a Keeling?

Climate science is under intensive scrutiny, with contrarians questioning virtually every aspect of the research. Even though [NOAA] and Scripps take their samples from many of the same places, including Mauna Loa, the vital work of calibrating the measurements is performed in separate laboratories, and that means the programs are genuinely independent of each other. So any time the measurement record comes under attack, an alternate version is readily at hand.

UNITED NATIONS  |  COP 16 |  CANCUN

Guardian  |  Deal is reached at Cancún summit
All major economies agree to cut emissions and establish a fund to help nations most vulnerable to climate change

LA Times  |  UN climate pacts contain small steps, no broad accord
Delegates agree to measure greenhouse gases and help vulnerable countries gird for worsening sea levels, droughts and hurricanes. The role of China and other developing economies remains a point of contention.

LA Times  |  Cancún climate agreements at a glance
A breakdown of the main terms of the deal reached at the UN climate summit in Cancún, Mexico

IPS News  |  Cancún Summit Gives Fossil Fuels a Free Pass 

The main cause of climate change is the burning of fossil fuels, so why are billions of dollars being invested to find and produce more oil, coal and natural gas? That is the question posed by Canadian indigenous representatives at the alternative civil society meet, Klimaforum, held parallel to the United Nations-sponsored climate summit under way in the Mexican resort city of Cancún.

BBC  |  Climate pledges fall short, says UN

The promises countries have made to control carbon emissions will see temperatures rise by up to 4C during this century, a UN report concludes.

Independent  |  Climate change and disease will spark new food crisis, says UN

A food crisis could overtake the world in 2011, according to the Food and Agriculture Organisation, an agency of the United Nations. 

CLEAN ENERGY

Climate Spectator  |  Is baseload power necessary?

For years, David Mills, the eminent solar energy technology developer, has dreamed of creating a new model for an energy system that does away with the conventional design of massive baseload infrastructure.

Climate Spectator  |  Cheap solar?

Solar PV is already reaching parity with retail prices in several key markets, but could it one day compete with coal on the wholesale market?

Planet Ark  |  Concentrated Solar, Biofuels Competitive Soon: BCG

Solar energy and biofuels are on track to become economically competitive against conventional power sources within a few years to a decade, the Boston Consulting Group said on Wednesday

CLIMATE COMMUNICATIONS

Yale Climate Forum  |  Scientists and Journalists on ‘Lessons Learned’

By any account, it’s been a challenging 12 months for climate science, for climate scientists, and for the ever-changing face of journalism as its practitioners struggle, or not, to keep their audiences adequately informed and knowledgeable. 

The Australian  |  Some sceptics make it a habit to be wrong

NICK Minchin's views on climate change conform with a conservative strategy of sowing doubt.

Lateline  |  Historian takes aim at powerful climate doubters

American science historian Professor Naomi Oreskes believes political uncertainty about climate change comes from a small handful of distinguished scientists who also denied the link between tobacco smoke and cancer.

ECONOMICS

Grattan Institue |  Markets to reduce pollution: Cheaper than expected

Technology innovation is the key to reducing carbon emissions cheaply. Grattan Institute investigated the experience of six pollution pricing schemes in Australia and overseas. In each case, costs to reduce pollution, and actual prices, were much lower than governments and their experts expected. 

Climate Spectator  |  Let the markets lead the way

Climate Spectator  |  Mind the free market trap

We all know the argument: Governments are inherently ineffective at guiding markets and will always screw it up when they try to. Markets, the argument goes, are inherently more efficient at picking technologies and responding to constraints, so should be left to do their thing.    

INVESTMENT

Climate Spectator  |  Investors say it’s time to act

It seems the world’s leading investors are sick of not being listened to on the critical issue of climate change, and financing the transition to low-carbon technologies. And they’ve decided to do something about it.

PEAK OIL

Energy Bulletin Blog |  IEA acknowledges peak oil

Will peak oil be a guest or the spectre at the feast?  The International Energy Association’s position is summarized in it recent 2010 report, World Energy Outlook, with a discussion and graph showing that conventional crude oil production already peaked in 2006!  Suddenly, the subject of impending peak has gone from not worthy of discussion to in the past already!  Also see: World Energy Outlook: Executive Summary

WIKILEAKS & CLIMATE

CNN  |  Wikileaks cables reveal pessimism in climate change talks

Of all the subjects covered by the U.S. diplomatic cables obtained by WikiLeaks, climate change appears to have generated the most frustration, anger and pessimism.

Guardian  |  WikiLeaks cables reveal how US manipulated climate accord

Embassy dispatches show America used spying, threats and promises of aid to get support for Copenhagen accord

CARBON EMISSIONS

Telegraph  |  Scientists call for rationing in developed world

Global warming is now such a serious threat to mankind that climate change experts are calling for Second World War-style rationing in rich countries to bring down carbon emissions.  

Independent  |  Biofuel plan will cause rise in carbon emissions

Reuters  |  UAE, Australia and U.S. top list of carbon emitters

The United Arab Emirates, Australia and the United States have the worst overall records for emitting greenhouse gases, according to an index published on Wednesday combining current and historic emissions.

US COAL REGULATION

CleanTechica  |  EPA could eliminate 55Gw of coal power with regulations

By far the greatest threat coal poses is to future climate.  But even regulations that only seek to reduce its more immediate health threats could cut coal plants in the US by 20%, according to a report from coal industry consulting firm The Brattle Group

CLIMATE SCIENCE, POLICY & THE GAP IN THE MIDDLE

ABC Unleashed  |  The real climate change challenge

Greg Combet's speech to the ANU Crawford School Forum on November 30, 2010 encapsulates everything that is wrong with climate change policy in Australia.

CLIMATE SCIENCE

Climate Central  |  Evidence Accumulates of Record Greenhouse Gases and Warming

Three seemingly disparate stories in recent days help illustrate what climate scientists keep repeating — that empirical evidence indicating a warming world is widespread and robust, despite lingering and important uncertainties about how the world's climate system functions.

HUMAN & PLANETARY IMPACTS

Independent  |  Worldwide voices from the frontline of global warming

A special report featuring the perspectives of people most affected by climate change

FUTURE WARMING & DEGREDATION

The Royal Society  |  Special Report:  Four Degrees and Beyond

New et al:  “Even with strong political will, the chances of shifting the global energy system fast enough to avoid 2^°C are slim. Trajectories that result in eventual temperature rises of 3^°C or 4^°C are much more likely, and the implications of these larger temperature changes require serious consideration.”

Guardian  |  Climate change scientists warn of 4C global temperature rise

Team of experts say such an increase would cause severe droughts and see millions of migrants seeking refuge.  Quote:  “the impacts associated with 2C have been revised upwards so that 2C now represents the threshold [of] extremely dangerous climate change."

ARCTIC SEA ICE

Climate Progress  |  Arctic Death Spiral 2010

Navy’s oceanographer tells Congress, “the volume of ice as of last September has never been lower…in the last several thousand years”

OCEAN IMPACTS

ABC News  |  Scientists fear mass extinction as oceans choke

Australian scientists fear the planet is on the brink of another mass extinction as ocean dead zones continue to grow in size and number.

Sydney Morning Herald  |  Barrier reef not looking so great

''If people's CO2 emissions continue as they have, the future of the reef is very grim. I would suggest that coral reefs will be highly altered and perturbed ecosystems by 2050 if we do not make a massive effort to curb our emissions. The findings back up much of the previous research that finds ocean acidification will have serious impacts on reefs.''

Climate Progress | Coastal experts: Assume 2-meter sea rise for infrastructure plans

Comment on front-page NY Times piece on sea level rise.

NY Times  |  As Glaciers Melt, Science Seeks Data on Rising Seas

Climate Progress |  Sea levels may rise 3 times faster than IPCC estimated

“Since 1990, sea level has been rising at 3.4 millimetres per year, twice as fast as on average over the 20th century. Even if that rate just remained steady, this would already lead to 34 centimetres rise in the 21st century,” Dr Rahmstorf said. “But the data show us clearly – the warmer it gets, the faster the sea level rises. If we want to prevent a galloping sea level rise, we should stop global warming as soon as possible,” he said.

ADAPTATION

Australian Labor  |  Coastal maps prepare Australians for climate change

New maps which identify the future impacts of climate change on some coastal regions will assist the community prepare for sea level rise, the Federal Government announced today. More Australian coastal information at ozcoasts.org

@mospheric Post is an independent, volunteer-driven publication that is produced in Canada by Pro Oxygen, the maker of CO2Now.org. Pro Oxygen distributes @mospheric Post as a free information service for the advancement of climate literacy . . . starting with awareness of atmospheric CO2 and what it means.  

Twice a month, @mospheric Post delivers the global numbers earthwide – straight from the atmosphere and virtually in real time. It also gives you access to the latest targets, reports and stories about our world, from around the world. Consider it your online source for getting the straight goods and the big picture on humanity's main environmental challenges. 

If you would like to give feedback or a suggestion – or to make a correction – you are welcome to email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Subscribe to @mospheric Post

@mospheric Post is produced twice monthly by Pro Oxygen and distributed earthwide by CO2Now.org 

December 17, 2010   
Year 1 | Edition 1

Subscribe

With considerable pleasure, I give you the first edition of @mospheric Post.

This online publication replaces Atmosphere Monthly as the official CO2Now .org newsletter that hit the internet on the 11th day of 2008.  Almost three years later, the time has come to refocus the newsletter so it does one thing exceptionally well:  Make worldwide deliveries of the most current data about the health of our home – planet Earth. 

Here's what you get: 

* Earth's leading sustainability indicators
Timely updates without screens, filters or algorithms – atmospheric CO2, global temperature, and global carbon emissions – the scientific readings straight out of the atmosphere. 

* Two issues per month
That's twice as often as before.  The timing of each issue will match the release of the latest month's data for the atmospheric CO2, followed by the latest month's data for global temperature.  

*  Scientific information is presented in an understandable context    
@mospheric Post present the latest numbers for 'what is' next to authoritative numbers for 'what should be' or 'what is safe.'    

As resources allow – volunteer resources I should add – @mospheric Post will go further and include some bonus content.  This edition is a good example, with these extras:  

  * Take Your Time by cartoonist Tom Toles
  * Carbon Media articles that keep you linked into media articles
     and scientific reports from around the world.  
  * Fresh updates on recent CO2Now achievements
     (like its listing in the Guide to Best Websites on Sustainability) 
     and other climate-literacy tools.

I hope you find some good information and new insights in this edition of @mospheric Post , and in future editions.  Let's look forward to the day when the global data is visible far and wide, when a majority of people are aiming for planetary  targets like 350 ppm and – and later –  when the world is celebrating the stabilization and the fall of CO2 levels in the atmosphere.  As it is with any monumental achievement, the journey starts with small steps leading in the right direction. 

Thank you for reading through the first edition of this newsletter that is, like you and so many of us, a small but vital part of a larger, planet-saving mission. 

Michael McGee
Editor

 

“The atmosphere is the key symbol of global interdependence.”
~ Margaret Mead

Atmospheric CO2 data in this publication was released December 14, 2010 by NOAA-ESRL.
Data for periods within the last year are preliminary.

Monthly Data for Atmospheric CO2

Accelerating Rise of Atmospheric CO2 

* Rates of change are calculated with Mauna Loa CO2 data released by NOAA-ESRL and the Scripps Institution of Oceanography. 

CO2 Data Source

Via CO2Now  |  Monthly & Annual CO2 Data from NOAA-ESRL & Scripps

The Full Edition is available at:
Current Edition:   The CO2Now Climate Sheet   
Current & Past Editions:  About The CO2Now Climate Sheet

See the Full Edition of The CO2Now Climate Sheet

TOLES © 2010 The Washington Post. Used at CO2Now.org by permission of Universal Uclick. All rights reserved.

On November 21, 2010, Nature Geoscience and GlobalCarbonProject.org published data for the 2009 Global Carbon Budget.  Here is a summary:  Last year, CO2 emissions from fossil fuels decreased by 1.3%.  These emissions were second highest in human history, just below 2008 emissions.  They are 37% higher than in 1990, the Kyoto reference year. Scientists expect that global carbon emissions will reach record levels in 2010.   

The graphic to the left shows that the usage of fossil fuels and cement accounted for 88% of humanity's global carbon emissions in the past decade. 

Learn more about the current emissions trends at the CO2Now webpage for Global Carbon Emissions.

Recent articles, papers and reports. 
From around the world. 
About our world.

Solutions

SMH  |  Islanders lead world on personal carbon test scheme
In Australia, Norfolk Island will introduce the world's first trial of a personal carbon trading scheme. If successful, it could improve the health of the residents as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The Age  |  BMW commits $550m to electric car
BMW has inaugurated what will be Germany's first factory to mass produce battery-powered cars, committing hundreds of millions of euros - as well as its prestige - to the as-yet-untested market.

International Business Times  |  Denmark leads world in promotion of electric cars
Denmark has been in the forefront of countries that took various initiatives to promote electric cars, in a bid to reduce their dependence of limited reserves of oil and contain greenhouse gas emissions.  Globally, transportation sector is the leading consumer of oil and emitted significant amount of carbon dioxide emissions into the atmosphere….

Climate Spectator  |  Solar as cheap as coal?
Can solar be cheaper than coal and gas? In a sense it already is, given the value that the NSW government has given it after cutting tariffs from rooftop solar to below that delivered to the household from  coal and gas plants.

greening.it  |  Enabling a low carbon society with information and communication technology
'Greening IT' is an international collaborative, non-profit, creative-commons licensed book dedicated to the preservation of the most important resource - planet earth itself. As the book details, our approach to preservation is not accomplished via pure environmentally focused policies, but instead by leveraging the most important and potent enabler of the Low-Carbon society - Information and Communication Technology (ICT).

Guardian  |  Schwarzenegger: My life  as a green activist
In what is likely his last performance on a world stage as governor, Schwarzenegger this week launched the R20 climate network, an alliance of regional leaders who have pledged to work together to fight climate change. Schwarzenegger is the "founding father" of the new venture, a self-appointed global champion in the war against climate change.

Zero Waste Solutions  |  Seizing the Opportunities of Climate Change
Over the past five years, study after study points to renewable energy and efficiency as the best employment generators. The Political Economy Research Institute and the Center for American Progress say clean-energy investments create 16.7 jobs for every $1 million in spending; fossil fuels, by contrast, generate 5.3 jobs per $1 million in spending. Direct job creation for oil and natural gas is 0.8 jobs per $1 million in output, and coal's is 1.9 jobs per $1 million in output.

Clean Energy

MNN  |  China a surprise leader in clean energy: study
The world's top polluter, China, is a surprise leader in clean energy efforts, a study showed Tuesday, outstripping the United States and Japan and leaving Australia lagging far behind

Climate Literacy

NY Times Blog  |  52 Percent of Americans Flunk Climate 101
A new study by researchers at Yale University suggests that Americans’ knowledge of climate science is limited and scattershot, with some understanding of basic issues like the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming and some singular misconceptions as well.

Communications

The Ecologist  |  How to Win Campaigns Part I: Communication essentials
Proven top tips on communicating your issues effectively from one of the UK's most successful campaigners...

Climate Institute  |  Climate Messaging Guide: Cutting through the Climate Clutter
A climate communication guide developed by the Climate Institute

Nature  |  How to beat the media in the climate street fight
Researchers must take a more aggressive approach to counter shoddy journalism and set the scientific record straight, says Simon L. Lewis.

Guardian  |  Is climate science disinformation a crime against humanity?
Deeply irresponsible corporate-sponsored programmes of disinformation have potentially harsh effects upon tens of millions of people

Salon  |  The new barbarism: Keeping science out of politics
Climate skeptics reach a new low. Their goal: Don't let scientists influence policy, period. 

Guardian  |  IPCC vice-chair: Attacks on climate science echo tobacco industry tactics
Jean-Pascal van Ypersele says rows over 'climategate' emails and Himalayan glaciers were organised to undermine Copenhagen summit

Climate Progress  |  Must-see: Rachel Maddow on right-wing media
"Things that would have been disprovable myths in times past in America now become conservative truths."

Carbon & CO2

Sai Gon Giai Phong  |  No let up in carbon emissions, scientists warn
Annual emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the burning of oil, gas and coal were 30.8 billion tonnes, a retreat of only 1.3 percent in 2009 compared with 2008, a record year, scientists said in a letter to the journal Nature Geoscience.  The global decrease was less than half that had been expected, because emerging giant economies were unaffected by the downturn that hit many large industrialised nations.

AOL News  |  NASA: CO2, Not Water Vapor, Causes Global Warming
The Earth's atmosphere is a complicated place. Somewhere in that swirling, shifting mixture of air, water and other gasses is the key to keeping us earthlings alive -- or to cooking us.

Science Daily  |  Carbon Dioxide Controls Earth's Temperature, New Modeling Study Shows
Water vapor and clouds are the major contributors to Earth's greenhouse effect, but a new atmosphere-ocean climate modeling study shows that the planet's temperature ultimately depends on the atmospheric level of carbon dioxide.

Climate Progress  |  How carbon dioxide controls earth’s temperature
NASA's Lacis: "There is no viable alternative to counteract global warming except through direct human effort to reduce the atmospheric CO2 level."

France24  |  Time to find a second Earth, WWF says
Carbon pollution and over-use of Earth's natural resources have become so critical that, on current trends, we will need a second planet to meet our needs by 2030, the WWF said on Wednesday.

J Hansen  |  China and the Barbarians Part I
“China cannot stabilize Earth's climate alone. If, as I hope, they conclude that a rising carbon fee is in their interest, the question will become: can they find a sufficient number of "good barbarians" who will abandon greenwash and participate in effective policy?  I will discuss a second reason for optimism in Part 2.”

Temperature

Climate Progress  |  NOAA reports 2010 hottest year on record so far
Zambia hits 108.3°F, 18th nation to set record high this year October 18, 2010 

Washington Post  |  Hansen projects hottest year on record... in 2012
According to James Hansen, the director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies (GISS), 2010 may not wind up being the hottest year in the modern temperature record after all. In an analysis posted last week, Hansen said the onset and intensification of La Nina conditions in the Pacific Ocean have cooled global average surface temperatures, and despite the record heat in the first eight months of the year, 2010 may wind up either tied with or behind 2005, currently the warmest year in the GISS analysis. 

Tools

NASA JPL  |  Climate Time Machine: tracking climate changes over time
Time series visualizations on key climate change indicators

Global Warming Feedbacks

Environmental Research Web  |  Greenhouse gases have hidden kick
Methane and nitrous oxide likely to lead to 20% higher temperature rise than assumed, due to carbon-cycle feedback

Real Climate  |  Introduction to feedbacks
RealClimate has recently featured a series of posts on the greenhouse effect and troposphere, articulating some of the more important physics of global warming from first principles. It is worthwhile reviewing these elements every so often with different slants just so the broad picture is not lost in the disagreement over details.

Energy & Economy

NY Times  |  Jump in Energy Demand Seen by 2035 
World energy demand will grow by more than a third over the next 25 years even as new supplies of oil become harder to find, an influential forecasting agency said Tuesday in advocating greater government support for alternative fuels.  

The Age  |  Helping business zero in on climate
We can't wait for governments to tackle climate change. Clearly, our political leaders and their official advisers are yet to face up to the challenge.

The Economist  |  Climate change and the Mediterranean: Saving our sea
According to Dimitri Zenghelis, a co-author of the 2006 Stern report on climate change, the region can expect to see a drop in precipitation of 25-30% by the middle of the century, with wide variation either side of the mean. If rainfall on bits of the northern Mediterranean coast were to fall by, say, 50%, the landscape could become more like the southern shore—and the struggle to save bone-dry forests from fire might become nearly hopeless.

Energy Collective  |  The problem with "Peak Oil" from an economist’s point of view
A lot of peak oil analysis leaves economists cold. After all, production levels are in part a result of production choices, and in markets production is driven in part by costs and prices.  The popular Hubbert’s Curve approach to modeling peak oil ignores all of this. 

Health & Education

Guardian  |  UN report warns of threat to human progress from climate change
Human development report says inaction on climate change puts at risk decades of progress on education and health

Security & Peace

The Age  |  Time to end war against the earth
When we think of wars in our times, our minds turn to Iraq and Afghanistan. But the bigger war is the war against the planet

Water

Smithsonian Magazine  |  The Colorado River Runs Dry 
Dams, irrigation and now climate change have drastically reduced the once-mighty river. Is it a sign of things to come?

Science Daily  |  Huge parts of world are drying up: Land 'evapotranspiration' taking unexpected turn
The soils in large areas of the Southern Hemisphere, including major portions of Australia, Africa and South America, have been drying up in the past decade, a group of researchers conclude in the first major study to ever examine "evapotranspiration" on a global basis.

Science News  |  Warming is accelerating global water cycle
Fresh water evaporates from the oceans, rains out over land and then runs back into the seas. A new study finds evidence that global warming has been speeding up this hydrological cycle recently, a change that could lead to more violent storms. It could also alter where precipitation falls — drying temperate areas, those places where most  people now live.

Species & Biodiversity

ABC.net  |  Humans are causing the sixth great extinction
While the global population's set to top nine billion by mid-century, non-human life is dying at rates not seen in 60 million years. Scientists are calling it the sixth great extinction, a catastrophic drop in the number of the world's plant and animal species.

ABC.net  |  UN biodiversity chief joins Lateline
A new report from the WWF says the world's biodiversity has dropped by 30 per cent since 1970, a rate not seen in 60 million years.

Ice

Guardian  |  Book Review: A World Without Ice by Henry Pollack
'Ice asks no questions ... reads no newspapers, listens to no debates. It is not burdened by ideology', writes Henry Pollack in this call to arms on climate change

Climate Progress  |  The science behind increasing Antarctic sea ice 
Progressives should know the most commonly used arguments by the disinformers and doubters — and how to rebut them.

Arctic

NY Times  |  The Arctic Shifts to a New Climate Pattern in Which 'Normal' Becomes Obsolete
Warming continues to shrink the snow and ice cover that defines the Arctic, signalling the region's shift to a new climate pattern, scientists said yesterday.    

NOAA  |  Arctic report card 2010: Return to previous Arctic conditions is unlikely
Record temperatures across Canadian Arctic and Greenland, a reduced summer sea ice cover, record snow cover decreases and links to some Northern Hemisphere weather support this conclusion

Reuters  |  Warmer Arctic probably permanent, scientists say
The signs of climate change were all over the Arctic this year -- warmer air, less sea ice, melting glaciers -- which probably means this weather-making region will not return to its former, colder state, scientists reported on Thursday.

Oceans

Climate Signals  |  Deep ocean waters warming
Scientists analyzing measurements taken in the deep ocean around the globe over the past two decades find a warming trend that contributes to sea level rise, especially around Antarctica.

Science  |  Caribbean Coral Die-Off Could Be Worst Ever
Scientists studying Caribbean reefs say that 2010 may be the worst year ever for coral death there. Abnormally warm water since June appears to have dealt a blow to shallow and deep-sea corals that is likely to top the devastation of 2005, when 80% of corals were bleached and as many as 40% died in areas on the eastern side of the Caribbean. 

The Age  |  Between denial and the deep blue (rising) sea
IT IS called the Bruun rule, and it works like this. For every centimetre the sea level increases, it says there is a decent chance of the shoreline retreating between 50 centimetres and a metre.

AlertNet  |  Need to move Indonesia's capital growing urgent in face of climate change, experts say
Sea level rise, worsening flooding and land subsidence in and around Jakarta have prompted Indonesian officials to resurrect plans to move the country's capital - but local residents and experts say Jakarta itself will not survive unless it adapts to cope with climate change. 

Daily Climate  |  Facing a rising sea, and wondering how far to step back
Uncertainty over sea-level predictions makes planning for change difficult, but that's no excuse for inaction, says Princeton's Michael Oppenheimer.

Food

Guardian  |  Six casualties of the world food crisis
Extreme weather and market forces have affected the price of everything from Israel's tomatoes to South Korean cabbage

Independent  |  Climate change hurting China's grain crop: report
Climate change could trigger a 10 percent drop in China's grain harvest over the next 20 years, threatening the country's food security, a leading agriculture expert warned in comments published Friday.

Business Week  |  Harvest of Worry
Yields are not keeping up with a world growing hungrier. Crops are stunted in a world grown warmer. A devastating fungus, a wheat "rust," is spreading out of Africa, a grave threat to the food plant that covers more of the planet's surface than any other.

BBC  |  Attack of the rats 
Once in a generation, gigantic plague of rats, that ruins crops and leaves people starving in India may get even worse in the future due to climate change, scientists suspect.

Technology

Reuters  |  Biofuel worse for climate than fossil fuel - study
European plans to promote biofuels will drive farmers to convert 69,000 square km of wild land into fields and plantations, depriving the poor of food and accelerating climate change, a report warned on Monday.

Adaptation

Daily Climate  |  Climate adaptation: Adding to a tide of worry
Coastal cities worldwide struggle to slot climate impact into a lengthy catalog of worries. 'Cities are totally unable to deal with this extra level of complexity.'

John Englander  |  World Bank/UN natural disaster report minimizes climate impacts
A new report by the World Bank and United Nations recommends economical ways to minimize global losses from natural disasters that could triple to $185 billion by the end of century, but notes that this excludes climate change.

2010 closes with CO2Now.org being included in the global Guide to Best Websites on Sustainability.  This guide features CO2Now.org in the same publication as leading sustainability websites like ClubOfRome.org, 350.org, postcarbon.org and more than 100 others. 

CO2Now  |   Interview and info about the Guide to Best Websites on Sustainability 

People and institutions are making CO2 visible with CO2Now website widgets.  How do widgets work?  CO2Now.org delivers the widgets, bandwidth and data updates.  You put a widget on your site.  Together, we make it possible for more people to see and think about the latest atmospheric CO2 levels and trend.   Together, we make CO2 visible far and wide.     

CO2Now  |  Websites Widgets
CO2Now  |  Worldwide Widget Users

A Brief History of CO2Now Widgets
In April 2008, CO2Now.org launched the world’s first widget to display atmospheric CO2 levels.  Since June 2009, all CO2Now widgets have been served from a data center that is powered directly by solar panels.  In Fall 2010, the HTML widget code was updated and the number of widget options was increased to 28.   

If you already use a CO2Now widget, we recommend that you think about refreshing your widget code, especially if one of the new size options Is a better fit for your site.  If you make no change, that’s okay because your existing CO2Now widget code will keep working for the long run.  If you have any special widget needs, such as a custom size or code that works on secure (https) intranets or websites, send an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it . 

Happy 3rd anniversary to Earth's CO2 Home Page, launched December 17, 2007 and kept current every month since.  Below is the main graphic on the 2007 launch into cyberspace.  You've come a long way, baby!   (Sadly, so has CO2, in the wrong direction.)

Before taking up permanent residence at CO2Now.org, Earth's CO2 Home page was a single-page website at themostimportantnumber.org.   The name was picked before realizing there are more important, planet saving numbers like 350 and zero (as in 'less than 350 parts per million' and 'zero emissions'.)   

@mospheric Post is an independent, volunteer-driven publication that is produced in Canada by Pro Oxygen, the maker of CO2Now.org. Pro Oxygen distributes @mospheric Post as a free information service for the advancement of climate literacy . . . starting with awareness of atmospheric CO2 and what it means.

Twice a month, @mospheric Post delivers the global numbers earthwide – straight from the atmosphere and virtually in real time. It also gives you access to the latest targets, reports and stories about our world, from around the world. Consider it your online source for getting the straight goods and the big picture on humanity's main environmental challenges.

If you would like to give feedback or a suggestion – or to make a correction – you are welcome to email us at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it .