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.
Premiere Edition of Atmospheric Monthly a publication of CO2Now.org and Larbon Solutions
Sinking markets eclipse rising CO2 emissions
Washington DC (USA) World markets plunged and churned as the US economy and financial systems entered meltdown mode in September. As hundreds of billions of dollars jumped in and out of the markets, some important news slipped by with little notice.
On September 26, 2008, the Global Carbon Project gave the following report on 2007 carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human sources:
Anthropogenic CO2 emissions have been growing about four times faster since 2000 than during the previous decade, and despite efforts to curb emissions in a number of countries which are signatories of the Kyoto Protocol. Emissions from the combustion of fossil fuel and land use change reached the mark of 10 billion tons of carbon in 2007. Natural CO2 sinks are growing, but more slowly than atmospheric CO2, which has been growing at 2 ppm per year since 2000. This is 33% faster than during the previous 20 years. All of these changes characterize a carbon cycle that is generating stronger climate forcing and sooner than expected." [Global Carbon Project | September 2008]
The world faces dual economic and environmental challenges that may best be solved in tandem. This is the theme of a recent article in Scientific American that reminds us that a transition to a clean energy economy could be the "engine of growth" to pull the economy out of its doldrums. Also consider the early commentary by the IPCC's Rajendra Pachauri in his new blog:
It is perhaps no exaggeration to speculate that we are on the verge of an era that will see a fundamental shift towards greater respect and concern for nature and a substantial effort towards reaching an energy mix that would be much lower in fossil fuel content. [Rajendra Pachauri Blog | September 29, 2008]
Prepare for an Arctic without ice
National Snow and Ice Data Center (USA) While Wall Street was heating up, the arctic sea ice reached its seasonable minimum on September 14, 2008. The September 2008 average was the second lowest since the start of satellite measurements in 1979. The record low for September arctic sea ice extent was last year in 2007. The 2008 minimum was 34% less than the long term average from 1979 to 2000.
In late 2007, US scientists predicted the dissappearance of Arctic Sea ice in five to six years. The prediction was produced with climate modelling and sea ice data from 1979 to 2004. The three lowest minimums on record occured in 2007, 2008, and 2005 respectively.
Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii (USA) For the first September in the past 800,000 years, atmospheric CO2 exceeded 381 parts per million (ppm) by reaching 383.09 ppm in September 2008. The upward CO2 trend is accelerating from decade to decade. The data gathered to date shows no indication of a coming turnaround.
The rising concentrations of CO2 and other greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are the cause of global warming. To solve global warming, emissions must be reduced low enough for atmospheric levels to decline.
Jim Collins, author of Good to Great, tells an essential truth about the starting point for solving a difficult problem. In a nutshell, he says we need to “confront the brutal facts.” That is what CO2Now.org is all about. For better or for worse, the site and the monthly updates are raising the profile of the greenhouse gas most responsible for global warming and climate change: carbon dioxide. The atmospheric CO2 reports give us the most complete, current and direct indication of whether we humans are doing enough to solve these problems.
The information may seem depressing. Let's keep our chins up and know that there is a constructive reason and purpose for tuning into these gloomy monthly reports. When we know the brutal reality of the situation, we are more able to get clear about the need and urgency for effective action. It can also help us get more clear about what must actually be done to solve these problems. This is a place where more and more people need to be.
New widgets are ready to make waves
Last month, we turned a single CO2 widget into an entire series that gives people and companies more options for selecting a widget that suits their website or blog. In the first month, the number of other web pages that displayed a widget from CO2Now.org was about 40,000. This is an awesome beginning that we want to see continue and grow. Let's turn this ripple into a wave. We'd like to extend a big thankyou for everyone who helped get one of the new widgets added to a website or blog.
Announcing the new Brundtland CO2 Widget
The line up of CO2 widgets designs expanded in September. The new and largest in the series has been dubbed the "Brundtland 600" (in reference to the width of 600 pixels)after former Norwegian Prime Minister Gro Harlem Brundtland. Among her many accomplishments, she is well know for her UN Brundtland Commission and her report, Our Common Future. She is also credited as a pioneer of sustainability. The Brundtland 600 widget is found on the home page of CO2Now.org to show 50 years of data for atmospheric CO2. For the first time, a widget is available to make it easy to display a CO2 chart and current CO2 data on most any website or blog. If you have dominion over a small patch of cyberspace, you can help the world see the reality of rising CO2 levels with the new Brundtland widget.
By the way, did you know that Norway is committed to becoming carbon neutral by 2050, the most aggressive target for any national government? It is also prepared to achieve this objective by 2030 if other Nations following suit.
CO2Now.org starts with a respectable "page rank" by Google
September was the first active month for CO2Now.org (i.e. the cyberspace base for Atmosphere Monthly). Near the end of September, the website’s "page rank" by Google jumped from zero to five (out of ten). We think it's a great way to get started. To see how a "five" compares with some websites that you may be familiar with, check out the list below.
9 out of 10
Wikipedia, NASA, Microsoft, United Nations, NY Times, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Apple
8 out of 10
Google, Yahoo!, Facebook, International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), United Nations Framework Convention for Climate Change (UNFCCC)
7 out of 10
Craigslist, DavidSuzuki.org, SierraClub.org, Scripps Research Institute, WorldChanging.com, ExxonMobil, Grameen Bank
6 out of 10
350.org
5 out of 10
CO2Now.org
A higher ranking means a few things, including greater credibility in the eyes of a search engine. It also means there are lots of links from other websites. Having a higher ranking means that more people will find your website. For CO2Now.org, a "five" is a respectable start, and far better than the "one," "two" and "three" that was achieved at the older site that CO2Now.org replaced.
Thanks to everyone who added a link or a widget to their site. And kudos to Jayson Brown and Walkinweb for great tech support and guidance. CO2Now.org would be less visible without you.
Making the atmosphere a better space
The long-term rise of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is at the heart of the global warming and climate change problems. This atmospheric trend also points to the key to solving these problems: reducing emissions low enough for a decline in the concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere. Doing that is the one thing that can and must be done to tackle these problems.
The Global Carbon Project tells us that the oceans and lands absorbed 54% of our emissions in 2007. In simple terms, a global emissions reduction of at least 46% is needed just to stop the long-term rise of atmospheric CO2. The International Panel on Climate Change provides more details about the elimination of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The scale of what must be done to solve global warming and climate change is immense, and yet knowing the scale of what must done makes it far more doable than before.
At the heart of the global warming struggle
Al Gore has been speaking out about a few "carbon companies" that are funding campaigns to confuse people into thinking that global warming is no big deal. He calls it a form of stock fraud and calls on young people to counter these information campaigns with civil disobedience.
If you're a young person looking at the future of this planet and looking at what is being done right now, and not done, I believe we have reached the stage where it is time for civil disobedience to prevent the construction of new coal plants that do not have carbon capture and sequestration.
Watch Al Gore on YouTube in this one and a half minute video:
Leading climatologist sprinkles science with some Canadian politics Keeping Our Cool by Andrew Weaver
Andrew Weaver is a professor and Canada Research Chair in Climate Modelling and Analysis at the University of Victoria. He is a lead report author for the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) which shares a Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore. In 2008, he won a Guggenheim Fellowship.
His book is Keeping Our Cool: Canada in a Warming World. It was published by Viking Canada on September 8, 2008. Thomas Homer-Dixon calls it Canada’s “best single book on our climate crisis and what we should do about it.” Some brief exerpts are provided.
All [climate modelling] simulations that have less than a 60% reduction in global emissions by 2050 eventually break the threshold of 2°C warming this century. Particularly disturbing from a policy perspective is that even if emissions are eventually stabilized at 90% less than 2006 levels globally (1.1 billion tonnes of carbon emitted per year), the 2°C threshold warming limit is eventually broken well before the year 2500. [p. 243]
Stabilization of the climate system requires carbon dioxide emissions to be eventually eliminated. [p. 264]
Geo-political analysis for the Energy Climate Era ahead Climate Wars by Gwynne Dyer
Be among the first to benefit from Gwynne Dyer's insights the future world trends and conflicts. Pre-order the book or get on an availability list. The publication date for Climate Wars is October 28, 2008.
As rising temperatures hurt vineyards in places like Spain, vintners more than 1,000 miles north in Poland are trying to turn the European Union's biggest vodka producer into a burgeoning wine country. (Climate treaty negotiators meet in Poznań, Poland for the first 12 days of December 2008 for a milestone meeting on the design of a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol that expires in 2012.)
The United Nations launched its television channel on YouTube, a popular video sharing and social networking web site, in an effort to reach a broader and younger audience on a range of issues on the world body’s agenda.
High-level invitation for a scientific wake up call
On behalf of Yvo De Boer, Executive Director of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was applauded for its scientific achievements over the past twenty years. In light of efforts to replace the Kyoto Protocol through a continuing series of meetings that aim to conclude in December 2009 in Copenhagen, the IPCC was also asked to "help supply" a wake-up call to crystalize commitment among the public and climate negotiators.
Public understanding is essential to secure political commitment. The public across the world and the climate change process itself need a scientific wake-up call for Copenhagen. My hope is that the IPCC can in some way help to supply that wake-up call.
Scientists without smocks: Climate letters for Canadian voters
Have scientist started to answer the call of the UNFCCC? On October 14, 2008, Canadians will vote in national elections. To draw attention to the need for extraordinary action on climate change issues, 124 climate scientists, Andrew Weaver among them, shed their lab smocks to talk directly with Canadian voters. These scientists are urging Canadians to vote strategically for the candidates and parties that are committed to policies that can best address the climate and related enviornmental challenges that our generation needs to fix. Here is an excerpt from the letter:
Many may not realize that even if we immediately stabilized atmospheric greenhouse gases at current levels, the Arctic would still go ice free in the summer, between 10% and 25% of the world’s species would still be committed to extinction, and weather will continue to become more extreme.
In a separate initiative, more than 230 leading Canadian economists used the national Canadian election to inform the public debate on the need to deal with climate change with policies based on sound economic principles. The following is taken from this group's open letter:
Pricing carbon is the best approach from an economic perspective. Approaches to reaching any particular climate change goal that involve pricing carbon, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, involve less economic damage to businesses and families than the alternatives.
What is the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC? The Convention's article 2 describes it as the "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere..." This is also key to solving global warming and climate change.
The achievement of that objective may well have been the greatest hope and dream shared by delegates to the Earth Summit in 1992. Indeed, the UNFCCC was one of the major products of that gathering in Rio de Janeiro. Over the past 16 years, the plain truth is that greenhouse gas concentrations have moved further away from stabilization, not closer to it.
The levels of greenhouse gases are rising in the atmosphere. Global temperature is rising on the Earth's surface and in the oceans. Arctic ice is shrinking and scientist are predicting open Arctic waters at a time when atmospheric CO2 is reaching about 400 parts per million.
The UNFCCC is rightly asking for a "scientific wake-up call." Scientists in Canada and around the world are right to answer the call. This can be done in ways that allow the core scientific work to continue on a professional peer-review basis.
For those of us who are not scientists, it is important that we better understand the challenges and promote a greater awareness of what is needed to solve these problems. One simple and powerful thing that most of us can do is pay attention to the current CO2 level and trend. There is also a simple and powerful thing that the UNFCCC Secretariat can do to support us in such efforts. It can post the current CO2 level in the middle of the UNFCCC home page. Let's focus together on the UNFCCC's ultimate objective and humanity's generational challenge to solve global warming and climate change.
Anyone can display atmospheric CO2 levels on their website or blog. Choose from any of the ready-made widgets at CO2Now.org. Those wishing to design their own CO2 widget are free to use the same CO2 data gathered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) at the Mauna Loa Observatory. It was this data that Al Gore puts on display in An Inconvenient Truth. It is this data that the International Panel on Climate Change continues to use in its climate models and scientific reports. It is the data we should all be paying attention to. This is the most current, direct and objective way to know whether humanity is doing enough to turn around the problems of global warming and climate change.
