This post is by Lisa Moore, Ph.D., a scientist in the Climate and Air program at Environmental Defense Fund.
Last week, NOAA released some disheartening numbers: both CO2 and methane increased sharply last year. Growth rates are increasing (see graph to the right).
The CO2 numbers weren’t a surprise. A paper with similar findings was published last November by a team that included a NOAA scientist. I wrote a blog post summarizing the study, which analyzed the reasons behind the trend (see Rise of Atmospheric Carbon is Accelerating).
The methane numbers, however, were disturbing. Until this year, methane levels have been essentially unchanged since 1998.