Yep. You read that right. CO2 emissions are going down; or, at least that’s the projection. Economic downturns like 2008 and China’s recent event mean we use less fossil fuels; but this time is different because attitudes and technologies have shifted. We’re continuing to pump CO2 into the air faster than nature can process it, so the threat continues, and the decline is slight; but the news is encouraging. CO2 hit 403.95 ppm, exceeding the 400ppm target. We continue to pump about 35.9 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. In 1990, that was more like 22.5 billion – and people were worried then. The trend is good but we have a long way to go, even just to get back to 1990 levels.
(Click on the graph for the link.)
Pretending Not To Panic 