# For probably the first time in 3 million years, CO2 goes over 400 ppm in the atmosphere! **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [May 10, 2013, 9:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027 "2013-05-10T21:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![lavenderviolet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/cdc98d/32.png) [@lavenderviolet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lavenderviolet)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/21 "2013-05-11T18:33:42Z")
> [@TriPolar](#): > > Yeah! Let’s go wreck Mars too! Yeah, pretty much. **Global** cooperation to stop destroying the earth seems like an unrealistic pipe dream to me. If we can’t find a way to get a couple of countries to get along enough to bring peace to the Middle East, we’re not going to get everyone on earth to agree to stop trashing the planet. The problem will only get worse as developing countries industrialize more in the coming decades. To me, the only two realistic scenarios are that humans will be killed off (if not directly by the earth’s climate changes, by a pandemic or something like that) or humans will find another place to live before it’s too late. ---
**Author:** ![Rick](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/9f8e36/32.png) [@Rick](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rick)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/22 "2013-05-11T18:55:48Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > Next on SDMB - “Should you tip a climate and if you should, how much?”. At least 15% you cheapskate! ---
**Author:** ![toofs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/4491bb/32.png) [@toofs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/toofs)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 7:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/23 "2013-05-11T19:02:47Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > Yeah, pretty much. **Global** cooperation to stop destroying the earth seems like an unrealistic pipe dream to me. If we can’t find a way to get a couple of countries to get along enough to bring peace to the Middle East, we’re not going to get everyone on earth to agree to stop trashing the planet. **The problem will only get worse as developing countries industrialize more in the coming decades.** > > To me, the only two realistic scenarios are that humans will be killed off (if not directly by the earth’s climate changes, by a pandemic or something like that) or humans will find another place to live before it’s too late. Bolding mine. With the exception of a few Western countries, the other 200 or so countries of the world don’t care much about CO2 levels. Their growing populations have more immediate concerns than capping CO2 emissions. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/24 "2013-05-11T19:47:17Z")
> [@lavenderviolet](#): > > I really think the only hope humanity has to actually survive over the long term is to figure out a way to colonize other planets. … > I honestly expect that humans will end up killing ourselves off with our own stupidity, but if we’re lucky maybe we will work out a way to colonize Mars or something in time. population reduction will happen. too bad people didn’t start doing that voluntarily half a century ago when there were indications that it would be sensible and conservative to do so. ---
**Author:** ![GIGObuster](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gigobuster/32/421_2.png) [@GIGObuster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GIGObuster)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 9:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/25 "2013-05-11T21:07:14Z")
The guys at Grist have to look at the funny side of it: > **[CO2 crosses dreaded 400 ppm milestone, and science is very disappointed in you](https://grist.org/article/co2-in-atmosphere-passes-dreaded-milestone-murders-scientific-optimism/)** > > As predicted, human activities finally push carbon dioxide levels to a 3-million-year high. Climate scientists throw up their hands in exasperation. > [@](#): > > CO2 crosses dreaded 400 ppm milestone, and science is very disappointed in you > [@](#): > > The front-page story then trots out a sad-face-mask Greek chorus of credible climate scientists whose responses justifiably run the parental gamut between “I’m not mad at you — just disappointed” and “get out of my house.” > > > [@](#): > > > > “It symbolizes that so far we have failed miserably in tackling this problem,” said Pieter P. Tans, who runs the monitoring program at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration that reported the new reading. > > Translation: “Get into college? Not with those grades.” > [@](#): > > > [@](#): > > > > “If you start turning the Titanic long before you hit the iceberg, you can go clear without even spilling a drink of a passenger on deck,” said Richard B. Alley, a climate scientist at the Pennsylvania State University. “If you wait until you’re really close, spilling a lot of drinks is the best you can hope for.” > > “I told you to take the dog out, but it’s too late. Now you have to clean up the carpet.” > > > [@](#): > > > > “If you’re looking to stave off climate perturbations that I don’t believe our culture is ready to adapt to, then significant reductions in CO2 emissions have to occur right away,” said Mark Pagani, a Yale geochemist who studies climates of the past. “I feel like the time to do something was yesterday.” > > “This is the last time I’m going to tell you. I’m going to Moe’s.” > > The worst part is there are more do-not-pass-go milestones to come: Hourly readings above 400 ppm started last month, daily averages are reaching 400 ppm now, and it’s likely a monthly average above 400 ppm will arrive in the near future. Unless we can stop blasting through carbon thresholds, Science is poised to be very disappointed in us for the foreseeable future. Go to your room. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [May 11, 2013, 9:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/26 "2013-05-11T21:13:46Z")
With today’s technology, we can live much more comfortably than people did 4 million years ago! Why, I’m not entirely sure they had thumbs yet! ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 1:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/27 "2013-05-12T01:05:22Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > With today’s technology, we can live much more comfortably than people did 4 million years ago! > > Why, I’m not entirely sure they had thumbs yet! Hell yeah! Just invest in air conditioner manufacturing companies and you will be fine. Camels in Canada sounds pretty damned cool to me. That is like the Arctic wasteland right now. Nice people but let’s help them out and throw them some heat because they have been freezing to death since like forever. The national sport may need to be switched from ice hockey to water polo but that sounds like a huge win all around to me. I fail to see the downside to this whole hullabaloo. ---
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 1:48am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/28 "2013-05-12T01:48:19Z")
Nuke China. All those damn poor people wanting cheap coal-fired electricity. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [May 12, 2013, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027/29 "2013-05-12T02:02:49Z")
> [@Lumpy](#): > > Nuke China. All those damn poor people wanting cheap coal-fired electricity. Excellent! That is the real solution to quite a few problems. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/for-probably-the-first-time-in-3-million-years-co2-goes-over-400-ppm-in-the-atmosphere/658027.md?page=1)