The oceans are absorbing a quarter of the carbon dioxide (CO2) we humans emit into the atmosphere. This is acidifying the oceans, threatening marine ecosystems and the life that depends on them. The film Revolution, screened at the Nature Centre at the end of August, addresses this beautifully, as well as the power of youth to wake us all up. If you missed it, you can borrow it from the Vancouver Island Regional Library. In August 2014 the atmospheric concentration of CO2 was 397.01 ppm. This past winter CO2 concentrations reached 400 ppm. While CO2 concentrations are steadily rising by 2 ppm per year due to human fossil fuel use, there is a seasonal variation in concentration because of the difference in vegetation between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres.The Northern Hemisphere has more land for vegetation to grow compared to the Southern Hemisphere. CO2 builds up slowly during the northern winter, when trees and plants are dormant. In May everything begins to grow, CO2 is taken out of the atmosphere, and levels come down slightly. In the fall vegetation stops growing, and in its dormant state stops absorbing CO2, so the carbon in the atmosphere increases. These levels go up and down like this every year, but we are effectively already over 400 ppm. Unless we are able to rapidly turn this around and return to below 350 ppm this century, we risk triggering tipping points and irreversible impacts that could destabilize the climate beyond our control.
Posted on: Mon, 15 Sep 2014 01:36:24 +0000
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