EVERYDAY SCIENCE

Detailed explanation-1: -Carbon dioxide concentrations are rising mostly because of the fossil fuels that people are burning for energy. Fossil fuels like coal and oil contain carbon that plants pulled out of the atmosphere through photosynthesis over many millions of years; we are returning that carbon to the atmosphere in just a few hundred.

Detailed explanation-2: -The second graph shows CO2 levels during Earth’s last three glacial cycles, as captured by air bubbles trapped in ice sheets and glaciers. Since the beginning of industrial times (in the 18th century), human activities have raised atmospheric CO2 by 50% – meaning the amount of CO2 is now 150% of its value in 1750.

Detailed explanation-3: -By drilling for ice cores and analyzing the air bubbles, scientists have found that, at no point during at least the past 800, 000 years have atmospheric CO2 levels been as high as they are now. That means that in the entire history of human civilization, CO2 levels have never been this high.

Detailed explanation-4: -The concentration of carbon dioxide in Earth’s atmosphere is currently at nearly 412 parts per million (ppm) and rising. This represents a 47 percent increase since the beginning of the Industrial Age, when the concentration was near 280 ppm, and an 11 percent increase since 2000, when it was near 370 ppm.

Detailed explanation-5: -The atmospheric level of carbon dioxide has been steadily rising since the 1960’s. In 2021, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels reached a high of 416.45 parts per million, in comparison to 1960 levels which stood at about 316.91 parts per million.