Greenhouse Gases
 
1. GREENHOUSE GAS LEVELS

  • Currently, the IPCC’s worst‐case scenario forecasts are being realized or exceeded, leading to a catastrophic 1000 parts per million of CO2 by end of century. To preserve the planet in a similar state as now, humankind must aim to reduce CO2 levels from the current 385 parts per million to a stabilized target of 350 parts per million.
  • Carbon sinks are saturating and becoming carbon sources that add rather than absorb greenhouse gases:
    • Global plant growth is in a decade-long decline (2000-2009) due to climate change-induced stress from drought. (Science, Aug 2010)
    • The ocean has absorbed so much CO2 that it is acidifying at an alarming rate.
      (University of Bristol researchers, in Nature Geoscience, 2010)

  • With just a 2-degree Celsius average global rise, billions of tons of methane could be released from the Arctic, leading to mass extinctions of life.

2. RISING TEMPERATURES

  • Without drastic action now, a worst-case scenario rise of 4 degrees Celsius, which means spread of deserts, collapse of the Amazon, and massive release of methane and CO2 gases from melted permafrost, will actually be reached as early as 2060, with a catastrophic  warming of 5-7 degrees likely by century’s end. (UK Met Office, 2009)
  • Scientists report that the first eight months of 2010 have been the hottest on record globally. (NASA, 2010)
  • 2010 was also the year when unprecedented heat and high temperatures were recorded in 16 countries, the highest number ever, including Kuwait, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Chad, Niger, Russia, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
  • In the past century alone, the temperature has climbed 0.7 degrees Celsius, at a rate 10 times faster than historic norms, due to human causes.
  • The past ten years have seen the hottest average annual temperatures ever recorded in our planet’s history. (US NASA, 2010)
  • Without mitigation, much of the USA, for instance, by end of the century would have extreme temperatures of 122 degrees Fahrenheit (50 degrees Celsius). (Geophysical Research Letters paper, 2008)
  • Pledges made by governments in Copenhagen to reduce greenhouse gases are not enough to avert runaway climate change. They would still lead to a dangerous temperature increase of more than 3 degrees Celsius. (US Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), 2010)


 Reference
Latest News
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Heavy oils and tar sands create more emissions. - 6 Jan 2011
Rivers releasing potent greenhouse gas. - 5 Jan 2011
Climate change converts forests into carbon emitters. - 20 Dec 2010
Black carbon: an opportunity for near-term mitigation of global warming. - 18 Dec 2010
Greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2009. - 27 Nov 2010
Greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2009. - 27 Nov 2010
China plans to reduce dioxin emissions. - 12 Nov 2010
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Greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2009. - 27 Nov 2010
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Greenhouse gases reached record levels in 2009. - 27 Nov 2010
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China plans to reduce dioxin emissions. - 12 Nov 2010
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Dr. Peter Carter’s Zero Carbon World
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“Beyond 4 Degrees” Dr. David Karoly’s Assessment of Climate Change
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High Level Dialogue: Climate Change in Asia and the Pacific
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Climate Change AD - Extreme Rise in Dangerous Methane
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Earth's Tipping Points - In-Depth with Dr. James Hansen, Director of NASA's Goddard Institute for Space Studies
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Methane Hydrate: What it is & How it Affects Climate Change - An Interview with Dr. Roy Hyndman
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From CO2 to Climate Change: In-depth with David Archer, PhD in Geophysics
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Significant impact of each degree global temperature rise - 6 Aug 2010
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Nitrous oxide and methane emissions recalculated - 20 Jul 2010
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Study raises concern over carbon dioxide sequestering - 6 Jul 2010
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Short-lived greenhouse gases heating the planet - 26 Jun 2010
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Plants’ cooling ability reversed by global warming - 23 Jun 2010
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Current government emissions limit pledges put world on dangerous warming path -17 Jun 2010
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Focus on reducing short-lived methane to cool the planet faster - 16 Jun 2010
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Singapore to launch carbon label for greener economy - 24 May 2010
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Hundreds of European join in a pledge to curb CO2 emission - 6 May 2010
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Thawing permafrost releases nitrous oxide - 15 Apr 2010
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Seabed methane could spell climate disaster - 27 Mar 2010
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Climate change reaffirmed as human-caused - 21 Mar 2010
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Sulfur dioxide pollution highlights methane as key to global warming - 11 Mar 2010
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