Dangerous Levels of Toxic Gases Found in Atmosphere (Chemtrails?)

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http://www.inthesetimes.com/site/ittlist/ind/dangerous_levels_of_toxic_gases_fou\

nd_in_atmosphere/

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> Dangerous Levels of Toxic Gases Found in Atmosphere

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> This is a story (for once) unrelated to emissions from the two

> major-party candidates for President: The Guardian is reporting that,

> for the second year in a row, levels of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the

> atmosphere have risen by over 2 parts per million. This is unusual for

> two reasons: first, there has been no precipitating natural or

> man-made disaster to cause the levels to rise so quickly; second, that

> it happened for the second year in a row indicates that the

> measurement is not entirely anomalous.

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> One of the most disturbing explanations for what has happened is that

> the Earth's carbon sinks have become at least partially saturated.

> These sinks, which include the oceans, forests and other vegetation,

> and organic material in the soil, are what prevent CO2 from building

> up to dangerously high concentrations in the atmosphere, by absorbing

> and storing most of it. They're an essential last line of defense

> against the greenhouse effect, and the suggestion that CO2 levels are

> rising more rapidly than normal with no obvious and immediate cause is

> extremely serious. Previously, it had been expected that they would

> only become saturated in several decades' time.

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> It should be noted that this is all just supposition. Though 2001-2002

> was the first non-El Niño year to see an increase in CO2 levels above

> 2 ppm (El Niño is significant because it warms the oceans, and warm

> oceans emit rather than absorb CO2), and 2002-2003 was the second such

> year, representing the first time since measurements began that a

> greater-than-2 ppm increase was sustained for over a year, there could

> still be any number of explanations that don't involve carbon sinks

> becoming saturated. 2 years in this case is not enough time to come to

> a conclusive finding, one way or another, about CO2 levels.

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> But it is enough to cause worry, especially since it indicates that

> the " tipping point " may have been reached, at which we would expect to

> see more rapid increases of CO2 levels in the atmosphere in coming

> years. Once that tipping point is reached, the Earth may enter a

> feedback loop where, as is explained quite nicely in this Independent

> story,

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> global warming causes alterations to the earth's natural systems

> and then, in turn, causes the warming to increase even more rapidly

> than before.

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> Such a development would mean the worldwide droughts, agricultural

> failure, sea-level rise, increased weather turbulence and flooding all

> predicted as consequences of climate change would arrive on much

> shorter time-scales than present scenarios suggest, and the world

> would have much less time to co-ordinate its response.

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> Ultimately, this increase should serve as notice that the time when we

> could ignore such easy and effective solutions as improved

> fuel-efficiency standards has passed us by. And as this article in The

> New Republic by Gregg Easterbrook notes, the differences between

> George Bush and John Kerry on this issue are stark:

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> A 2001 National Academy of Sciences study says that overall

> mileage can be improved by about one-third, using existing technology,

> without sacrificing safety or comfort and without forcing people into

> tiny, crash-vulnerable cars. But, when the Academy released its

> findings, Bush shelved the subject, employing the time-honored dodge

> of requesting further study. Kerry, in contrast, offered legislation

> to implement the improvement.

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> The Kerry-McCain proposal, introduced in March 2002, raised the

> federal MPG standard for new vehicles by one-third and dropped the

> loopholes that allow SUVs and pickups to meet lower standards than

> regular cars or to avoid standards entirely.

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> If the saturated carbon sink-theory is true, though, we may need to do

> more than just raise mile-per-gallon standards in the years to come,

> if we want to keep the Earth habitable for future generations.

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