Atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reach new highs

…The latest numbers show that carbon dioxide reached 383.1 parts per million (ppm), an increase of 0.5 percent from 2006. Concentrations of nitrous oxide also reached record highs in 2007, up 0.25 per cent from the year before, while methane increased 0.34 per cent, exceeding the highest value so far, which was recorded in 2003. Using the NOAA Annual greenhouse gas index, the total warming effect of all long-lived greenhouse gases was calculated to have increased by 1.06 per cent from the previous year and by 24.2 per cent since 1990. In the meanwhile, levels of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) continue to slowly decrease, a result of emission reductions under the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

Since the mid-18th Century, carbon dioxide concentrations in the atmosphere have risen an unfettered 37 per cent. Population growth and urban development worldwide continue to increase the use of fossil fuels, such as oil, coal and natural gas, which emit carbon dioxide and other gases into the atmosphere. At the same time, the clearing of land for agriculture, including deforestation, is releasing carbon dioxide into the air and reducing carbon uptake by the biosphere.

Environmental Expert