A new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) is not surprising, but it is important: Global levels of carbon dioxide and methane both increased sharply in 2007.
Well, maybe the methane is surprising, since it rose last year for the first time since 1998. Industrialization in Asia and wetland emissions from the Arctic and the tropics are the likely methane sources. Could this be the first indication that Arctic permafrost is releasing large amounts of methane into the atmosphere? A NOAA scientist says it’s too soon to tell. You can read the NOAA press release here.
As for carbon dioxide, we all know it comes primarily from burning fossil fuels. Since 2000, however, the rate of increase of CO2 has accelerated, hitting 2 parts per million (ppm) or more several times — compared to a rate of 1.5 ppm per year in the 1980s. That means CO2 levels have been rising 25 percent faster in some of the years since 2000. Last year, the level jumped 2.4 ppm — tied with 2005 for the third-highest increase since measurements began in 1958.
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Where are the carbon dioxide sources in the United States?
A new database tracks CO2 sources at a scale 100 times more resolved than previous work. The database, called Vulcan, was built by scientists at Purdue University and contains data from the year 2002. You can get data for CO2 sources by county and state here. The map graphic below compares the total amount of CO2 emissions in each part of the country. It includes emissions from power producers, industry, mobile sources, residential, commercial and cement. Not included are non-road and aircraft emissions. Interesting, isn’t it? The eastern half of the country produces most, while parts of the West act like carbon sinks, soaking up a bit of the CO2.
Has anyone ever told you that the effect CO2 has on temperature is logarithmic?
No, I have not heard that. Do you mean that as CO2 increases, temperature rises even more — i.e., at a faster rate?