See also:

Greenhouse gas emissions for Canada
 

Arctic Borderlands Ecological Knowledge Co-op

What is happening?

• This graph shows a steady increase in the amount of greenhouse gases in the world's atmosphere over the past 40 years, using the carbon dioxide levels measured at Hawaii and Alert, NT as an indicator.
• The straight pink line along the lower part of the graph is the estimated level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in pre-industrial times (before the mid-19th century).

Why is it happening?

• The use of fossil fuels in transportation, industry, heating and power generation throughout the world has increased steadily over the past 40 years. This has resulted in increases in greenhouse gas emissions at both the territorial and national level.

Why is it important?

• This increase in greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere is the driving force for global climate change.
• Greenhouse gases trap the sun's heat at the earth's surface, resulting in increases in temperature and other changes in weather patterns.
• Carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, occurs naturally, and the greenhouse effect it produces is necessary for life on earth. However, the steady increase in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is now having an effect on the world's climate, and this effect is expected to increase.

Technical Notes

• Data were obtained from Keeling, C.D. and T.P. Whorf. 2005. Atmospheric CO2 records from sites in the SIO air sampling network. In Trends: A Compendium of Data on Global Change. Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, U.S. Department of Energy, Oak Ridge, Tenn., U.S.A..