CO2 levels have reached record highs. According to data published by the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere now stands at 387 parts per million (ppm). This represents a 35 to 45 per cent increase compared to pre-industrial revolution levels, which are believed to have remained steady at between 260-280 ppm for the preceding ten thousand years.

This news comes hot on the heels of a report by top NASA climatologist James Hansen, which calls for target CO2 levels to be reduced to 350 ppm in order to avoid the "possibility of seeding irreversible catastrophic effects." The European Union currently has a target ceiling of 550 ppm, which is the world’s most stringent. Hansen, who has repeatedly accused the Kyoto-bashing Bush administration of trying to silence and censor him, fears that unless we take immediate and drastic action, global warming may accelerate at a far higher rate than expected, and life as we know it could end. 

He theorizes that a mechanism known as "fast-feedback" will mean that radiation reflecting polar ice caps will melt rapidly, and not gradually as previous models have shown, once a 2-3 degree temperature tipping point is reached. As the ice melts, it will raise ocean levels, meaning that even more of the planet will be covered by heat-retaining water, exacerbating the cycle of global warming.

In the conclusion of a paper submitted to Science magazine last month, Hansen warns that, "If humanity wishes to preserve a planet similar to that on which civilization developed and to which life on Earth is adapted, paleoclimate evidence and ongoing climate change suggest that CO2 will need to be reduced from its current 385 ppm to at most 350 ppm." 

In order to publicize the 350 ppm bar that Hansen has set, Middlebury College scholar and author Bill McKibben co-founded Project 350. McKibben calls 350 "the red line for human beings" and "the most important number on the planet." 

"Everyone on earth, from the smallest village to the cushiest corner office, needs to know what 350 means," says McKibben. "The movement to spread that number needs to be beautiful, creative, and unstoppable."

For more information on the number that will mark our salvation or our doom, go to: www.350.org. To find out how you can become part of the solution, go to: www.wecansolveit.org.

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