Greenhouse gases rise by record amount (Guardian)

[arenean]

From todays Guardian:

Greenhouse gases rise by record amount

Levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago

The global output of heat-trapping carbon dioxide has jumped by a record amount, according to the US department of energy, a sign of how feeble the world's efforts are at slowing man-made global warming. The figures for 2010 mean that levels of greenhouse gases are higher than the worst case scenario outlined by climate experts just four years ago. "The more we talk about the need to control emissions, the more they are growing," said John Reilly, the co-director of MIT's Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.

The world pumped about 564m more tons (512m metric tons) of carbon into the air in 2010 than it did in 2009, an increase of 6%. That amount of extra pollution eclipses the individual emissions of all but three countries, China, the US and India, the world's top producers of greenhouse gases.

It is a "monster" increase that is unheard of, said Gregg Marland, a professor of geology at Appalachian State University, who has helped calculate department of energy figures in the past. Extra pollution in China and the US account for more than half the increase in emissions last year, Marland said.....

[truebrit71]

1. I just posted this Guardian story in the GD forum as well...

...thought it warranted getting a few more eyeballs on it..

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x2240846

[stuntcat]

2. .

:cry: :kick:

[OKIsItJustMe]

3. Doesn’t surprise me

My impression has long been that the “Keeling Curve” shows exponential growth, not arithmetic.

http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/graphics_gallery/mauna_loa_record/mauna_loa_record_-_color.html

[GliderGuider]

5. A quick look at the data in Excel shows that you're right.

I just laid a series of trend lines on the 1959-2009 annual average data from Mauna Loa.

A linear trend line has a correlation of 0.9873, an exponential trend line has a correlation of 0.9921, and a second order polynomial correlates to 0.9991. So the rise is not linear, it has an exponential factor of some sort in it. The curve is in fact getting steeper over time.

Extending the second-order poly out to 2050 gives a projected concentration of 480 ppm. Given that we're not doing squat about reducing emissions, that's is what I expect the level to be at that time, unless we experience a protracted global economic crash.

[hatrack]

6. I'm guessing hitting (though not averaging) 400 ppm by 2015 at the outside

Maybe by 2013, if this kind of growth rate continues.

[hatrack]

4. But . . . but . . CLEAN COAL! But . . but . . .POLAR BEARS ON COKE CANS! But . . . but . . .

:silly: - but not surprising.