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April 2021 Exceeds 420 parts per million CO2

April 20, 2021

Monthly average of carbon-dioxide concentration at Mauna Loa Observatory. Graphic courtesy of  NOAA.

Tomorrow is Earth Day, April 22, 2021. Climate change is my mind.

The Earth’s carbon dioxide (CO2) levels peak around this time of year because there’s more landmass in the northern hemisphere and plants start their seasonal growing season. During their growing cycle, plants draw down CO2, and during the winter many give it up.

According to the Keeling Curve, we hit 420 ppm of CO2 in the atmosphere in April, and the world has warmed by more than two degrees. The Keeling Curve is a daily record of atmospheric CO2 from Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, and the readings are taken at Mauna Loa, Hawaii. Mauna Loa is thought to be the most pristine place to take such readings away from major cities and CO2 polluters.

What does hitting 417.40ppm of CO2 mean?

It means that the greenhouse-gas effect caused by the heat trapped in our atmosphere because of CO2 concentrations has reached a level higher than the Pliocene era, and we’re reaching for the Miocene era between 14 and 23 million years ago. Those were times when sea levels were much higher than they are now and the Earth’s surface changes were being caused by planetary-orbital cycles rather than trapped CO2. That in itself should tell us there is no excuse for these high levels of CO2 but from the actions of humans.

As the planet warms from the trapped CO2, we’re already seeing sea-level changes, plants and wildlife moving north, and severe weather becoming the rule instead of the exception. It alludes me how much humans have altered the composition of the atmosphere and increased the amount of  gas that is warming the climate. Certainly, in the long run, this will have to affect our ecosystems, our food supply, and our living conditions.

What can we do about it?

There are a number of no-mow lawn seed mixes available today. They are typically made up of a blend of fescues that creates a lush green carpet of grass that grows in full sun or partial shade – a more sustainable lawn. Mowed once a month, a no-mow lawn leads to a quieter, healthier environment.

The world’s most important carbon sinks are our forests and our prairies. As we all know, our forests and what remains of our prairies are being ravaged continuously to enhance development, so we can’t count on them to pull CO2 out of the air and store it safely in the soil. And the small percentage of forests and land protected by conservancy measures can’t make up for this loss either.

So it’s up to us as individuals, neighbors, and others to make up for it by the way we garden and landscape. Commit today to garden and landscape using native plants with deep taproots, with CO2 absorption in mind, and work toward creating neighborhood carbon sinks to help do our part.

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Comments

  1. Cynthia Jane Donahey says

    April 22, 2021 at 8:07 am

    what about about those volcanic eruptions? utube has videos. the one in iceland is supposed to be a leashed dragon.

    Reply
    • Donna VanBuecken says

      April 28, 2021 at 10:07 am

      Cynthia Jane — I can’t say. But this one is a real “dragon” — Donna

      Reply
  2. Roger Kanitz says

    April 23, 2021 at 4:27 pm

    Thanks for your thoughts on this important topic Donna! Happy Earth Day to you as well! I have my plant order in with Wild Ones.

    Roger

    Reply
    • Donna VanBuecken says

      April 24, 2021 at 10:19 am

      Roger — Your commitment to your garden helps do your part. I have my plant order with WOFVAC, too — Donna

      Reply
  3. Lucy Valitchka says

    April 23, 2021 at 9:17 pm

    thanks for the information & inspiration, Donna.

    Reply
    • Donna VanBuecken says

      April 24, 2021 at 9:42 am

      You’re welcome, Lucy — Donna

      Reply

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