Two greenhouse gases rose sharply in '07
- From: JCE <jcbepstein@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Thu, 24 Apr 2008 04:22:02 -0700 (PDT)
Caused by cosmic rays, no doubt (or the dog ate my homework story)
U.S.: Two greenhouse gases rose sharply in '07
Carbon dioxide continues climb, methane grows after years stagnant
WASHINGTON - Despite international levels to curb their growth, global
emissions of two key greenhouse gases — carbon dioxide and methane —
rose sharply last year and fears are that melting permafrost might be
partly responsible for the latter, federal scientists reported
Wednesday.
"Atmospheric carbon dioxide, the primary driver of global climate
change, increased by 0.6 percent, or 19 billion tons," the National
Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said in a statement announcing
the findings. "Additionally methane rose by 27 million tons after
nearly a decade with little or no increase."
Attributed primarily to the burning of fossil fuels, carbon dioxide
concentration in the air increased by 2.4 parts per million last year,
NOAA's Earth System Research Laboratory reported. That means 2.4
molecules of carbon dioxide were added to every million molecules of
air.
Since 2000, annual increases of 2 ppm or more have been common,
compared with 1.5 ppm per year in the 1980s and less than 1 ppm per
year during the 1960s, according to the lab, which t
Global concentration of carbon dioxide is now nearly 385 parts per
million. Pre-industrial carbon dioxide levels hovered around 280 ppm
until 1850. Human activities pushed those levels up to 380 ppm by
early 2006.
Concern has grown in recent years about these gases, with most
atmospheric scientists convinced that the increasing accumulation is
causing the earth's temperature to rise, potentially disrupting
climate and changing patterns of rainfall, drought and other storms.
The U.N.-sponsored Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has
worked to detail the scientific basis of this problem, and the Kyoto
agreement sought to encourage countries to take steps to reduce their
greenhouse emissions. Some countries, particularly in Europe, have
taken steps to reduce emissions.
Watching the permafrost
As for methane, vast amounts are stored in permafrost, or permanently
frozen ground.
Methane is 25 times more potent as a greenhouse gas than carbon
dioxide, but there's far less of it in the atmosphere. When related
climate affects are taken into account, methane's overall climate
impact is nearly half that of carbon dioxide.
Scientists are concerned that as the Arctic continues to warm and
permafrost thaws, methane could seep into the atmosphere, possibly
fueling a cycle of rising temperatures and more emissions released.
Until last year, global methane levels had been stagnant since 1998.
NOAA scientist Ed Dlugokencky said industrialization in Asia and
rising wetland emissions in the Arctic and the tropics are the most
likely causes of the methane increase.
"We’re on the lookout for the first sign of a methane release from
thawing Arctic permafrost," he added. "It's too soon to tell whether
last year's spike in emissions includes the start of such a trend."
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