Pre-industrial CO2 Levels were About the Same as Today

Authorities told us pre-industrial atmospheric levels of CO2 were approximately 100 parts per million (ppm) lower than the present 385 ppm. They are wrong. The pre-industrial level is at least 50 ppm higher than the level put into the computer models that produce all future climate predictions.
Published on December 22, 2008

How many failed predictions, discredited assumptions and evidence of incorrect data are required before an idea loses credibility? CO2 is not causing warming or climate change. It is not a toxic substance or a pollutant. Despite this reality, President Elect Obama met with Al Gore on December 9 to no doubt to plan a climate change strategy based on this “problem.”

Proponents of human-induced warming and climate change told us that an increase in CO2 precedes and causes temperature increases. They were wrong. They told us the late 20th-century was the warmest on record. They were wrong. They told us, using the infamous “hockey stick” graph, the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) did not exist. They were wrong. They told us global temperatures would increase through 2008 as CO2 increased. They were wrong. They told us Arctic ice would continue to decrease in area through 2008. They were wrong. They told us October 2008 was the second warmest on record. They were wrong. They told us 1998 was the warmest year on record in the US. They were wrong; it was 1934. They told us current atmospheric levels of CO2 are the highest on record. They are wrong. They told us pre-industrial atmospheric levels of CO2 were approximately 100 parts per million (ppm) lower than the present 385 ppm. They are wrong.

This last claim is critical because the claim is basic to the argument that humans have caused global warming and climate change by increasing the levels of atmospheric CO2 and have throughout the Industrial era. In fact, pre-industrial CO2 levels were about the same as today, but how did they conclude they were lower?

View Full Backgrounder in PDF Format (8 pages)

Featured News

MORE NEWS

We Can And Must Adjust To Climate Change – And Not Kill Billions

We Can And Must Adjust To Climate Change – And Not Kill Billions

We’ve always done so and have no right to tell others they can’t have modern living standards. Earth’s climate has changed many times over four billion years, and 99.999% of those changes occurred before humans were on this planet. During that short time, humans...

The Dangerous Slippery Slope of Activist-Driven Climate Lawsuits

The Dangerous Slippery Slope of Activist-Driven Climate Lawsuits

Manitobans should be concerned climate activists are pushing climate change litigation – or climate change tort cases – at the U.S. state and local levels. We should all be prepared if this bizarre new legal trend introduced by climate change alarmists comes to...

Wall Street’s Planned Theft of America’s Lands and Waters

Wall Street’s Planned Theft of America’s Lands and Waters

Everything will be monetized and measured and traded, even you. Up next on Wall Street's exploitation list. If not stopped, on November 17th, the U.S. government will pass a rule that allows for America’s protected lands, including parks and wildlife refuges, to be...