Global warming atmospheric carbon dioxide levels

Air pollution is a well known problem, one that migrates across international boundaries. Chemists sampling the air in North America, for example, can detect heavy metals released by smelters operating in China. Chlorofluorocar-bons released in the Northern Hemisphere affect ozone levels in the air above the South Pole. Since the introduction of the internal-combustion engine, atmospheric carbon dioxide levels have been rising markedly, and global warming is a potential consequence. 

So, it seems undeniable that we face a future of rising mean global temperatures and also rising sea levels. What effects are these changes likely to have within the twenty-first century The most authoritative review to date of the potential effects of global warming remains the 2006 Stem Review on the Economics of Climate Change [6]. Stem looked at what would have to be done to stabilize atmospheric carbon dioxide levels below 550 parts per million (ppm) by 2050. To achieve this, he estimated that the effort needed would be the equivalent of 1% of world GDP, which he considered to be difficult but achievable. 

Dissolved organic carbon (DOC) in water is also impacted by global warming. During the past 30 years, concentrations of DOC in lakes and streams in Europe and North America have increased. The increases are associated with global warming increased atmospheric carbon dioxide levels and other factors [47]. 

The current debate over controversial global warming theories will continue. The impact of carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, whether they are increasing or not over time, and the effect on climate and economics will continue to he discussed. A solution, if it is needed, may evolve—or not. 

Global warming pressure groups would have the world believe that catastrophic changes in the earth s climate will occur without drastic limitations of carbon dioxide emissions—this in spite of the fact that the carbon dioxide levels in the earth s atmosphere have been much higher than today s for much of geological history. For example, as documented by the work of Berner,13 atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations were some five 15... 

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