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Greenhouse emissions reach record high: UN

Nov 23, 2009 7:42 PM | By Sapa-AFP

Greenhouse gas emissions have kept increasing, reaching a record level since the pre-industrial era, the UN climate agency warned, just weeks before a crucial climate change summit.


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The American Electric Power Company's cooling tower at their Mountaineer plant is shown in New Haven, West Virginia. A looming government clampdown on CO2 emissions is about to confront an already embattled U.S. coal power industry with two stark options: capture carbon or die.
The American Electric Power Company's cooling tower at their Mountaineer plant is shown in New Haven, West Virginia. A looming government clampdown on CO2 emissions is about to confront an already embattled U.S. coal power industry with two stark options: capture carbon or die.
Photograph by: STAFF
Credit: Reuters

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"Levels of most greenhouse gases continue to increase," said the World Meteorological Organisation in a statement.

"In 2008, global concentrations of carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which are the main long-lived greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, have reached the highest levels recorded since pre-industrial times," it said.

WMO Secretary-General Michel Jarraud noted that data confirmed the "tendancy of exponential increase."

"It's not really good news: concentration of greenhouse gases continue to increase, actually even a bit faster," he said.

"This is reinforcing the fact that we are actually closer to the pessimistic scenario" forecasted by scientists of the authoritative Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, he said.

"Action must be taken as soon as possible," he stressed, ahead of a UN summit in Copenhagen next month aimed at securing a treaty to replace the Kyoto Protocol, which aims at cutting carbon emissions.

The WMO said since 1750, atmospheric carbon dioxide - the key driver of global warming - has increased by 38 percent, contributing to 63.5 percent of the growth in atmospheric greenhouse effect.

In 2008, carbon dioxide levels reached 385.2 parts per million, up 2.0 ppm from a year earlier.

Methane levels stayed stable from 1999 to 2006, but showed a "significant increase" in 2007 and 2008.

Methane is over 20 times more efficient than carbon dioxide in trapping solar heat, and some 60 percent of methane arise from human influence on nature, such as rice and cattle farming, fossil fuel usage and landfills.

Meanwhile, the WMO noted that the levels of chlorofluorocarbons are decreasing as the ozone-depleting compounds are being phased out through an international treaty.

However, concentrations of substitute gases are "increasing rapidly," contributing to 8.9 percent of greenhouse effect between 2003 and 2008.

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Nov 23 2009 07:50:32 PM
bart
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Nobody prepared to give an inch - we'll just have to wait and witness the effects of no action - sorry, with human mentality we are all doomed.
Nov 24 2009 07:47:27 AM
steveninthematrix
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Anthropogenic Global Warming (man-made) is a complete hoax.... it was invented by the ruling Elite of the world to bring in a world government and a world carbon-tax system...

has anyone even read the Copenhagen treaty? I have, and it has the words 'global government' in and enforcement all over the place.

PLANTS eat CO2, the more Co2 there is, the faster they grow, the warmer it is, the further north (in the northern hemisphere) you cant plant... 400 years ago there were grape vineyards in south scotland!

forget the propaganda from the UN (world government pre-planning organisation),

31000 sciencists and 9000 with PhD disagree with the UN, but they cant get into the mainstream media, check out

www.petitionproject.com < 31000 scientists who disagree, so when Al Gore says, no one disagrees, he is lieing

check out

www.globalwarminglies.com
and
www.prisonplanet.com

Im against pollution, im against deforestation, im against dumping toxic waste into the oceans, but CO2 is what plants eat and is not a pollutant!

www.globalwarminglies.com
Nov 24 2009 07:56:59 AM
steveninthematrix
user name
small spelling mistake, the further north you CAN plant.....

the greenhouse effect is what stops the earth freezing at night, and is caused by WATER VAPOUR, that is why deserts are hot during the day and cold at night, there is no water in the air to store the heat...

with no greenhouse effect, the earth would freeze at night..

mars's atmosphere is 94% CO2, and experiences little greenhouse effect, with the temperature dropping massively at 'night'

1000's of years ago, there was 3 or even 5 times more CO2 in the atmosphere, and plants grew and animals and people eat plants!

if you really have the time, watch

go to http://video.google.com and watch 'Global warming or global governance'

Al Gore is a lying politician, dont trust his sudden concern for the enviroment

Nov 24 2009 08:10:32 AM
Spitfire
user name
The top global warming scientists have been BUSTED.
Thanks to a hacker who released their e-mails - these crooked scientists were found to have changed data to suit their own agenda!!!
Read the whole expose at http://wattsupwiththat.com/
Nov 24 2009 08:39:46 AM
pickedlast
user name
Even if Global warming is a hoax, we can't continue to use fossil fuels. Do you want to live in a place where you can't see mountains 3km away because of the pollution? Do you want to continue to be at the mercy of the few countries that have oil reserves?


It is in the interest of the planet and humans to move to cleaner more effiecent energy.
Nov 24 2009 08:42:05 AM
inthekak
user name
Can anyone remember photosynthesis ? CO2 = Plant food. In the past high levels of CO2 resulted in times of plenty properity on earth, besides, humans only contribute about 5% of all CO2 on the planet, how are we causeing Global warming ? Also 95% of the greenhouse effect is caused by water vapour, should we pay water tax ? CO2 = life, and I will not pay a tax for breathing !
Nov 24 2009 08:52:16 AM
steveninthematrix
user name
pickedlast -

i agree man, but carbon tax is not going to stop pollution...

firstly, the earth is always producing more fossil fuel...

secondly, the real technologies which would make human beings free from eskom, all get bought up, or their inventors get killed.... amazing batteries, amazing solar panels, amazing water (not hydrogen) cars, have all been invented, but the technology is withheld as there is no way to tax it...

but CO2 is a pollutant, that demonstrates that the elite are lying, and a liar/manipulator always has an agenda....

dont trust them..

www.petitionproject.com
www.prisonplanet.com

check it out man...

peace to all

contactable on stevenbatman AT gmail.com
Nov 24 2009 09:10:52 AM
pickedlast
user name
You guys need to stop reading so many conspitacy theories.

Firstly the whole oh plants use Co2 for 'food' so it is cool is deluded. Yes they do but just like human beings (maybe not exactly) they can take only so much.

So for example, imagine you are in a room and every day a guy brings you a plate of food. You eat it. The next day he brings you 2, you eat it. The enxt 3, you eat 2 and a bit. The next day he brings you 4 plates, you force yourself and eat 3 but that still leaves 1 and a bit plates left. This carries on for a year, each day he brings you more and more.

What do you do with that food? You can only process so much, you may even over time be able to eat more and more but you can't keep up. The room fills up with food and the room becomes unpleasant to live in.

Same applies to plants, also we are cutting down more plants than we are planting.

And even if the earth was producing 10 times more oil each day than we use, it still begs the question, do you want to live on a planet where you can't see the sky because of the smog?
Nov 24 2009 09:18:22 AM
steveninthematrix
user name
pickedlast - plants grow faster and can be harvested faster if there is more CO2

in earth's history, there were times with 5 times more co2 in the atmosphere, and the polar bears were fine

if a plant gets 'fat', by eating too many plates, u just harvest it and all animals and humans benefit...

and 5-7% of CO2 is produced by humans (at a maximum), the majority comes from the oceans (if the sun warms the oceans they release their Co2, oceans are co2 wells), from volcanoies, and when any tissue rots (leaves, ants, whales), it releases co2...

so, 93-95% of Co2 is from non man-made sources, and we should all be scared?

again, im against pollution, im against deforestation, and ive seen the amazing solar panels and water-cars... but, they get disappeared very quickly...

just check out

globalwarminglies.com
petitionproject.com and be open to be wrong on this one issue

co2 is what plants eat, and the earth has had times of waaaay more co2, and being waaay hotter...

BECAUSE OF THE SUN, the earth is about one tenth of a degree celsius hotter in the last 100 years, and i must be scared of that???
Nov 24 2009 09:42:57 AM
pickedlast
user name
Where do you get your facts from? You need to quote more than from just websites that are 'biased' for an issue this big you need to be 100% sure of the facts for every 1 sciencist who says this is a hoax, there are 10 more who say that it isn't.

I would be glad if I am wrong but the whole world will be very sorry if I am not.

How do you know that we only produce 5%-7% of Co2? Also have you tested the rate at which plants can consume CO2 or adjust their Co2 consumption versus the rate of increase in Co2 being produced?

Also it is not just a matter of 1 or 2 degrees hotter, big deal, it is the chain reaction that it will cause or the unforseen consequences.


Also ask yourself, what is the harm in cutting co2 emissions?


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