Dr. Pieter Tans

Vanochtende berichtte de BBC World Service: 'Sharp rise in CO2 levels recorded. US climate scientists have recorded a significant rise in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, pushing it to a new record level… The chief carbon dioxide analyst for Noaa says the latest data confirms a worrying trend that recent years have, on average, recorded double the rate of increase from just 30 years ago. "We don't see any sign of a decrease; in fact, we're seeing the opposite, the rate of increase is accelerating," Dr Pieter Tans told the BBC. The precise level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is of global concern because climate scientists fear certain thresholds may be "tipping points" that trigger sudden changes. The UK government's chief scientific adviser, Professor Sir David King, said the new data highlighted the importance of taking urgent action to limit carbon emissions. "Today we're over 380 ppm," he said. "That's higher than we've been for over a million years, possibly 30 million years. Mankind is changing the climate."' Lees verder: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/4803460.stm U kunt ook naar de site van NOAA gaan, de US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, waar de in Groningen afgestuurde fysicus Pieter Tans werkt als chief scientist van de Global Monitoring Devision, onderdeel van The Earth System Research Laboratory. Zie: http://www.cmdl.noaa.gov/ Vanavond interviewde ik dr. Tans over de aanzienlijke stijging van het broeikasgas CO2 in de atmosfeer waardoor er nu een nieuwe record hoogte is bereikt. U kunt er hier naar luisteren: http://webdisk.planet.nl/houck006/default.aspx onder interviews. Het gesprek is in Engels aangezien Pieter Tans al 28 jaar in de VS woont en alle termen waarmee hij dagelijks werkt in het Engels zijn en hij niet alle termen in het Nederlands weet.