Day One: Everything You Need to Know About Global Warming in 13 Days

"1) The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere, after at least several hundred thousand years of remaining within a constant range, started to rise with the advent of the Industrial Revolution. It has increased by almost 40% and is rising each year. This is certain and straightforward."

[This is the first in a series of daily posts I am drawing from Jeremy Grantham's Summer 2010 Investment letter.  Mr. Grantham is on the Board of Directors of GMO LLC, a global investment firm with over $100 billion under management.  Mr. Grantham takes a large, worldview perspective on investments--with an eye toward long-term trends.  He is right-on about the impact of global warming.

In his summer newsletter he wrote an essay called Everything You Need to Know About Global Warming in Five Minutes.  He made thirteen bullet points.  I will reprint each bullet point one per day (see above) and comment on it.  Enjoy.]

No one debates the rise in CO2--even the harshest skeptics.  The Keeling Curve is probably the most well known graphic regarding global warming.Current CO2 atmospheric concentrations are above 390 parts per million.  Pre-industrial levels were approximately 280 parts per million.

Mr. Grantham's point that it is rising each year is correct.  What is more concerning, however, is that the rate of increase is also increasing--that is, the rise in concentration of CO2 in the atmosphere is accelerating.