sahara desert

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For the first time in human history, the concentration of climate-warming carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has passed the milestone level of 400 parts per million (ppm). The last time so much greenhouse gas was in the air was several million years ago, when the Arctic was ice-free, savannah spread across the Sahara desert and sea level was up to 40 metres higher than today. http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2013/may/10/carbon-dioxide-highest-level-greenhouse-gas The CO2 graphs: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/interactive/2013/may/10/climate-warming-gas-carbon-dioxide-levels-interactive Subscribe to The Daily Conversation http://bit.ly/WZnLnd Join the conversation on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/thedailyconversation Add TDC to your circles on Google+ https://plus.google.com/100134925804523235350/posts Follow The Daily Conversation on Twitter http://www.twitter.com/thedailyconvo There's scary news this week that climate warming gas in our atmosphere has passed the 400ppm milestone--higher than it's ever been in at least the last 3 million years, a period known as the Plicocene when global temperatures were 3-4 degrees celcius higher than they are today. "The passing of this milestone is a significant reminder of the rapid rate at which -- and the extent to which -- we have increased the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere," said Prof Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which serves as science adviser to the world's governments. "At the beginning of industrialisation the concentration of CO2 was just 280ppm. We must hope that the world crossing this milestone will bring about awareness of the scientific reality of climate change and how human society should deal with the challenge." These charts show just how frightening this moment is for humanity, which has seen CO2s levels growing at an ever-increasing rate. Zooming out really shows the true scope of this problem if we don't get it under control and quick. We're basically suffocating ourselves and all the other life on our planet. If global temperatures rise by more than 2C, Earth will lose more than half of the common plant species--the less plants we have, the worse this problem is going to get as plants are a crucial element to keeping our air clean and breathable. This news drives home the point that global warming and the climate change it will cause is undoubtedly the defining issue of our time, but we're not doing anything close to enough about it, especially here in America--the second leading CO2 emitting country behind the coal-happy Chinese. This has to become the top issue in American politics and should dominate the 2016 presidential campaign. But to make this happen, we have to continue to raise awareness about what the scientific evidence is telling us every single day. Keywords: TDC TheDailyConversation The Daily Conversation