The World Economic Forum wrote on March 27, 2019 that humans have ‘derailed’ Earth’s climate in just 160 years. “Prior to that, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations hovered around 280 parts per million (ppm).” While the average surface temperature was around 15°C (59°F), they said. However Earth’s climate derailed progressively since the start of the industrial revolution a century and a half ago.
Geo-Sciences Trace How Earth’s Climate Derailed
Geology, geophysics, and geochemistry enable scientists to meticulously detail how CO2 concentrations have risen. These now stand at more than 410 ppm. The pattern of their growth mirrors the industrial development of human society. This is how Earths climate derailed.
Earth’s natural sinks, in the form of trees and oceans have been unable to store all the additional CO2. The surplus ended up in our atmosphere. There it affects Earth’s ability to manage the heat from our powerhouse, the Sun. The CO2 will linger in our atmosphere for a century before it dissipates. There is no quick fix. We must reduce the amount we are putting up there.
I Heard the CO2 in Earth’s Atmosphere has Varied Widely
That’s perfectly correct. Billions of years ago the CO2 concentration was 10,000 times what is now, while oxygen was scarce. As life flourished on the new continent, photosynthesis began pulling CO2 from the atmosphere. Two billion years ago the concentration had fallen to 20 to a 100 times current levels.
At that point something changed. The arrival of mammals caused a shift to what we experience now. Much heat escaped from Earth 320 to 280 million years ago causing a major glacial era. More moderate climate returned after the last super-continent ripped apart 2.5 million years ago. Earth entered a phase of alternating glacial and non-glacial periods.
CO2 concentrations finally settled at pre-industrial levels 11,500 years ago. All was good after that, until Earth’s climate derailed progressively as industrial activity increased. 160 years later we have woken up and discovered our species is in trouble from CO2 emissions. You know what we have to do, but will we do it?
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Preview Image: We Know What We Have to Do
