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What are greenhouse gases continued...
The graph on the right (click to enlarge) is possibly the most important thing to absorb when coming to understand human-made Climate Change and the Greenhouse effect. The red line is temperature, the blue line is the amount carbon (CO2) in the atmosphere expressed as part per million (PPM). The two lines are intrinsically linked, consider them as ballroom dancers moving instep all the time, taking turns to lead the other.
There is still some debate as to why temperature leads the levels of CO2 up or down and why CO2 levels leads to higher or lower temperatures. The important thing to understand is that they are locked together and always move in union – like ballroom dancers. When one goes up the other follows, when one goes down the other follows.
Now look at the graph again and see where CO2 levels are today. Have another look at the CO2 graph and where it is headed in 40 short years if we do nothing to reduce our pollution. Consider the clear historical link between the two and start to imagine where the temperature rise may stop? Will it stop? When will it stop rising? If we stopped burning fossil fuels today it would continue to rise for another century before beginning to settle down. Are you thinking about making the shift to GreenPower yet - for $1.20 a day?
Finally, have a look at the red line representing temperature, go to the far right of the red line – can you see that little dip before the end?
That was the last Ice Age 10,000 years ago when the US city of Chicago was covered by one kilometre of ice.
What impact will a little jump in the red line do to life as we know it?
