Who Cares About CO2?

Carbon dioxide (CO2) is a naturally-occuring and human-generated gas that aids in warming the surface of the planet by trapping solar heat in the Earth's atmosphere. This is a good thing because it keeps our planet warm enough for animal and human habitat. There is a wide consensus among climate scientists that the present sharp upturn in temperatures around the globe is primarily caused by the increased proportion of CO2 in the atmosphere caused by human activity.

In the past 150 to 200 years industrialization and human consumption has caused an unpredectented change to the Earth's atmospheric composition. By burning fossil fuels such as coal, gas and oil and clearing forests we have dramatically increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth’s atmosphere and temperatures are rising.

A current scientific opinion on climate change is that recent warming is largely human-caused, although others differ. Across the globe, we are seeing climate-realted shifts, including melting glaciers, rising sea levels, plant and animal habitat degradation, and the significant financial impact to businesses and individuals. To put these risks in context consider the following:

• Severe climatic events are currently costing US$150 billion a year (source).
• 200 million people could be affected by rising sea levels (source).
• Disease spread may accelerate beyond ability to contain them given current technologies (source).

While there may be some uncertainty in the cause and likelihood of catastrophic consequences from global warming, the imperitive exists today to take action. This site is dedicated to furthering the dissemination of information, discussion and resources to contain anthropogenic global warming.

If you are looking for a good starting place, start by learning more about what you can do to make a difference.