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https://freedium.cfd/https://medium.com/enrique-dans/its-five-minutes-to-midnight-9d7b1cc851e8>
'Pictured is the history of atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations measured
at the Mauna Loa Observatory, Hawaii, since 1958. This is known as the Keeling
Curve and is essential evidence of increases in greenhouse gases caused by
human activity, the cause of global heating.
The longest such record exists at Mauna Loa, but these measurements have been
independently confirmed at many other sites around the world. The annual
fluctuation of carbon dioxide is caused by seasonal variations in how much
plants absorb: since there is more forest in the northern hemisphere, more
carbon dioxide is removed from the atmosphere during the northern hemisphere
summer than the southern hemisphere's. This annual cycle is shown in the inset
figure by taking the average amount for each month in all years measured. The
red curve shows the average monthly amounts, and the blue curve is the general
trend.
Mauna Loa Observatory's reports that the amount of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere is increasing faster than ever is very worrying. It is an ominous
sign of the failure of our efforts to reduce global greenhouse gas emissions,
and thus, the damage they cause to our planet's climate.
Contrary to the absurdly simplistic claims that "carbon dioxide is a good gas"
because plants absorb it, the reality is that more and more of it is being
trapped in the atmosphere, and together with water vapor (over which we have no
control), methane and nitrous oxides, it is driving an unsustainable global
increase in temperature. If it were not for human activity, the natural carbon
cycle between the atmosphere, terrestrial ecosystems, the ocean and sediments
would be balanced. But if we dedicate ourselves to extracting all the carbon
from sediments and burning it in the form of fossil fuels for decades, the
cycle becomes unbalanced, and we reach the point of severely modifying the
planet's climate to the point of making it incapable of supporting human life
and that of many other animal and plant species.'
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
