Science a GoGo's Home Page Forums General Discussion General Science Discussion Forum Atmospheric CO2 now Highest ever Recorded

The US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (Noaa) has been analysing samples of air taken from all over the world, including America's Rocky Mountains.
"Today we're over 380 ppm," they said. "That's higher than we've been for over a million years, possibly 30 million years. Mankind is changing the climate".

http://www.thewe.cc/weplanet/news/air/co2_record_high_levels_in_the_atmosphere.htm

***
Irreversible, thats guaranteed. I'd hate to pre-guess the worsening weather effects upon ourselves
animals, crops, health and life.

-----------------------------
Relish Today Ketchup Tomorrow
Optimism lives for the Living
---------Mike Kremer---------

How did that ever get past the Bush/Cheney political hacks?

Why the younger generation, the one that is going to inhereit this mess, hasn't figured out how to act in its own best interests is a continuing source of amazement.

Actually we have figured it out, it's just difficult to drag corporations, corrupt governments and religions zealots who want armageddon with us.

We are slowly prevailing though as evidenced by more hybrids, solar and wind power but greed and corruption are sneaky and powerful enemies.

Lillith, I wish I could believe that (the slowly prevailing part). I would love to see young Americans:

1. vote;
2. vote for their own best interests.

Most of my generation (I'm at the tail-end of baby boomers) are either sell-outs or mindless dolts.

(But I mean that in the best possible way!)

Lillith, I wish I could believe that (the slowly prevailing part). I would love to see young Americans:

1. vote;
2. vote in theor own best interests.

Thanks for the source material soilguy. ;-)

Until they are willing to do to protect their world, what my generation did in the 60s when we brought to an end the Vietnam war and overt racial discrimination ... it seems more like their are "amusing themselves to death."

It is an odd thing to for someone of the '60's generation to claim that others are "amusing themselves to death". Don't forget the drug culture and the rapid increase in the dependence on the oil-based economy of the 60's.

Dan wrote - "the younger generation, the one that is going to inherit this mess, hasn't figured out how to act in its own best interests is a continuing source of amazement."

- With the constant diet of adverts fed to our children from the age they can first utter the words 'Mummy buy me a...', we can barely be surprised that the younger generation are perfectly conditioned consumers. Expecting them to now give up the self indulgent lifestyle we have so expertly led them to believe is the only thing that matters, is a cry to the deaf - they won't hear us because they're all plugged into their Ipods.

It's like expecting China and India to refrain from their rapid economic development which will enable them to put tens of millions of extra cars on the road over the next two decades.

"Potential Consumers [in China] May Double by 2010
Still, with average urban household incomes rising to near $7,000 in 2010 the number of potential consumers could easily double, especially given the 70 or 80 million multi-income families currently in the $4,000 to $7,000 range. A figure of 3 million passenger cars in sales by 2010 is certainly not out of the question."

"By 2010, India will have 36 times more cars than it did in 1990."

Well India & China, the West has had its cake and well and truly gorged on it but if you crash the party we've got no chance.

Does Uncle Al still believe we haven't contributed to this mess as 'temperatures are rising on mars too, stoopid'?

I would like to be as optimistic as Chaoslillith, but slowly prevailing we are most definitely not.

Blacknad.

J. Arthur wrote:
"It is an odd thing to for someone of the '60's generation to claim that others are "amusing themselves to death."

Not odd at all. You'll not find me, in many situations, defending my generation as it irresponsibly destroy the planet and its inhabitants for reasons of short-term greed.

I would say that stopping the Vietnam war and participating in the civil rights movement, of which truly only a small percentage of us were actually involved, is about the only bright spot to which I can point. And neither of those is entirely unblemished either.

But to point to the drug use is disingenuous. Whether one chooses to use LSD or Beer the cause and effect are the essentially the same. All generations, in all countries, have always had their vices. No doubt you do things too you'd not want seen in public.

The recovering alcoholics I have known were far better off than the recovering heroin addicts. I haven't had much experience with former users of LSD, but my impression is that it is not in the same league as alcohol.

Also, an argument can be made that the war in Vietnam would have ended without the protests. It was not a popular war at all. It was a very long and costly war, with no direct benefit to the American public. Continuing this arguement, one could state that what the protests really did was make it impossible for the US to set up an even partially stable divided Vietnam (along the same lines as Korea). The US wasn't able to leave troops behind. When the North Vietnamese attacked after the US pulled out, there was nothing keeping the North out.

After all this admitedly wild speculation, one would have a hard time pushing the extrapolation farther. E.g. Vietnam pushed Pol Pot out--would that have happened if the US was still stationed in the South?