Atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased
Atmospheric carbon dioxide has increased from around 280 parts per million (by volume) in 1800 to around 315 in 1958 and 380 in 2005, a 31% increase over 200 years (IPCC, 2001). Other greenhouse gas emissions have also increased. Future carbon dioxide levels are expected to rise due to ongoing economic development dependent on fossil fuel usage, though the actual trend for the future will depend on economic, sociological, technological, and natural developments. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has concluded that there will be both global and regional climatic change, altered precipitation patterns, occurrence of extreme events such as droughts and hurricanes and an increase in climate variability (Houghton et al., 2001) during the next 100 years (IPCC, 1995, 2001). According to ice core climate record, today’s rising atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration, at 380 parts per million by volume, is 27 % higher than its highest recorded level during the last 650,000 years (Brook, 2005).
