Site Hub

Note: Earth's home page for CO2 has moved to a new location at CO2Now.org.

• Data source & publication: November 3, 2008 (NOAA / ESRL)
• CO2 Data & Graphs
• Why watch the CO2 number? (a case study)
• Why is Mauna Loa CO2 important?

• Subscribe to Number News and get the latest CO2 updates every month for free.
• Add a Current CO2 Widget to your website

Climate change has been called the defining challenge for the present generation.  Greenhouse gases are at the root of the rapid climate changes take place.  Carbon dioxide is the number 1 greenhouse gas, and it is rising at an accelerating rate.  

• Why is CO2 the most important number?
• Why watch the CO2 number? (a case study)
• Why is Mauna Loa CO2 important?

The short answer is this. Atmospheric CO2 needs to be less than it is today.

Dr. James Hansen, head of the NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies in New York, published a study in April 2008 showing that CO2 needs to come back down to 350.

Some links below provide information about the CO2 target of 350 ppm. Also, check out 350.org which kicks off officially as of June 9, 2008. With the guidance of Bill McKibben, author of the End of Nature, the 350.org team aims to get people working together to bring CO2 down to 350 ppm.

This site was set up by concerned, private individuals on their own time with the idea that better climate change solutions will happen sooner when a lot of people are paying attention to the CO2 levels as they change. You can help us help the world get that ball rolling by subscribing to Number News for free. You`ll get the latest CO2 updates as they are released to the public each month. It takes only a few moments a month to review the CO2 updates each month, and this is the easiest way to get CO2 levels delivered automatically. For a limited time, new subscribers have the chance to win any book or DVD that is featured at this web site, including Al Gore`s An Inconvenient Truth.

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• Forward a copy to one or more friends 

See the web page “The NOAA Annual Greenhouse Gas Index (AGGI)” for a list of the five major GHGs that are responsible for 97% of direct radiative forcing on climate (or the “greenhouse effect”), and the ten minor GHGs that are responsible for the remaining 3%.  

From 1990 to 2006, the increased greenhouse effect from the 5 major GHGs increased by 22%, and CO2 was the greenhouse gas responsible for about 80% of that increase.  The AGGI was designed in 2004 to bridge the gap between the “language of scientists” and information that is needed by policy makers, educators and the general public. 

• Methane (CH4)
• Nitrous Oxide / N2O (US EPA)
• Chlorofluorocarbon 11 / CFC-11 or CCI3F (CDIAC)
• GHG observation programs (NOAA)

The rise of CO2, global warming and climate change are not isolated problems. These problems exists in a world where countries and regions are debilitated by poverty, disease epidemics like HIV/AIDS, military conflict and the economic and energy challenges presented by peak oil. The persistence of these problems will hinder efforts to address the climate change basket of problems, and the climate change basket of problems will hinder efforts to reduce poverty, disease, war and oil supply reductions. The broad-minded approach to these problems seems necessary, and this site is designed to keep its focus on CO2 and tune into the broader issues that exist throughout the world.

• Bono and Al Gore Talk Poverty and Climate Change (2008)
• Important Books of the Month
• A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (Purchase the DVD or watch for free)
• United Nations Millennium Development Goals (UN)

The concentration of atmospheric CO2 is increasing because humans are burning fossil fuels like oil and coal at levels that repeatedly exceed the earth’s balance between CO2 additions and subtractions.

• Emissions by Country (US CDIAC: data as recent as 2004)
• GHG emissions data / general (UNFCC)
• GHG emissions data by country & industry sector (UNFCC)
• Carbon footprint calculators worldwide (earthfuture.com)
• Carbon Offsetters (offsetters.ca)

• IPCC  (International Panel on Climate Change)
• Kyoto Agreement (Dec 1997, UNFCC)
• Bali Roadmap, Indonesia (Dec 2007, UNFCC)

• Issue Map

• FAQs

There is much to be said and done respecting solutions. In time, more will be said and done at this site. If there is a single framework and starting place for looking a solutions, consider the solution wedges proposed by two professors at Princeton Universtity.

• GeoEngineering & Climate Change (CBC Quirks & Quarks / 2008)
• Renewalble Energy Cheapter Than Coal | RE<C (Google.com)
• Solar Energy as Cheap As Coal (SolveClimate.org / 2008)

Laugh a little.
Laugh a lot.

Do you ever feel overwhelmed by the weight of problems that exist in the world?  Perhaps this is the right time for a little laughter and “lightness of being.”  It’s gotta be good for one’s spirit and the planet.

• Comedy Videos on Cllimate Change

Free videos worth watching:

• Bono and Al Gore Talk Poverty and Climate Change (WEF / 2008)
• Climate Change Conversation with the Google Founders (WEF / 2008)
• Why Watch the CO2 Number?  (2008)

• An Inconvenient Truth starring Al Gore (Purchase the DVD)
• A Crude Awakening: The Oil Crash (Purchase the DVD or watch for free)

Read a little.
Read a lot.

We’ve started a list of books. Audiobooks will be added soon.  Some books are about global warming and climate change.  Others are about changing ourselves and the world to address challenging problems like global warming and climate change.

• Books etc
• Important Books of the Month

This site was launched by private individuals from Victoria, British Columbia, Canada with a vision to welcome content and design contributions from anywhere in the world.  This site is a two-way street for exchanging information, fostering ingenuity and building momentum.

• About Us
• Beta
• Principles
• Site Stats
• Subscribe to our Newsletter

• A project with your name on It
• Your invitation to shape the future of this site