Without these gases, heat would escape back into space and Earth’s average temperature would be about 60 degrees (F) colder. However, too much carbon dioxide is not good for our modern society. So, while the debate continues without end, levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere continue to climb.
Current analysis suggests that the combustion of fossil fuels is a major contributer to the increase in the carbon dioxide concentration, such contributions being 2 to 5 times the effect of world-wide deforestation (Kraushaar & Ristinen).
As a result of fossil fuel consumption around the world, the Mauna Loa monitoring station reports the carbon dioxide level in the atmosphere is currently about 380 parts per million compared to 315 ppm in 1958 when modern measurements were initiated.
Measurements of air bubbles trapped in the Greenland ice sheet indicate concentrations of 270 ppm in preindustrial times. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere now exceed anything Earth has experienced in the past million years and are rapidly approaching levels not seen since the Eocene when there were no ice caps, sea level was 100 meters above current levels, and there were crocodiles near the North Pole. This scenario does not bode well for our modern society.
For an interesting article on the health hardships that mankind will face as it moves towards closer towards a wetter and warmer climate, please go to: The Coming Health Crisis - The Scientist - Magazine of the Life Sciences http://www.the-scientist.com/article/display/57882/#ixzz1ACiqx4BA
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