Climate Change and Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide

Every once in a while, I run into someone who doesn’t believe there is a correlation between the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and the mean global temperature. I don’t necessarily think these people are stupid, but they are certainly misinformed.

So here are some graphs I took from the internet, cleaned up, and which just might convince otherwise those who believe that they know more about science than scientists. If you are unaware of my educational background, besides being a pretty good cartoonist, I’m also a PhD physicist (Robert S. Grace, Florida State University, 1971).

The first curve(1) plots the actual mean global temperature variation measured from around 1850 to the present day:

This next curve(2) plots the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It’s a smoothed curve because there is a seasonal variation over the course of the year. For example, there is more CO₂ in the winter than the summer because people are heating their houses. The more solid red line is derived from actual measurements begun by Charles Keeling³ in 1958.  The paler red curve is data inferred from ice cores:

For example, there is more CO₂ in the winter than the summer because people are heating their houses. The more solid red line is derived from actual measurements begun by Charles Keeling³ in 1958.  The paler red curve is data inferred from ice cores:

Here I’ve normalized the two graphs and superimposed them:

Even a non-scientist should be able to see the correlation.

Robert Grace is a PhD physicist who lives in Bradenton Beach. He is a Manatee High School Alumn, Class of 1961. Until he retired in 2018, he was also an internationally syndicated cartoonist for thirty years. An archive of his cartoon, Piranha Club, can be found at https://budgrace.com/.

References:

1. https://berkeleyearth.org/global-temperature-report-for-2023/
2. https://sealevel.info/co2.html
3. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keeling_Curve
4. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ronald_Stein_(energy_consultant)
5. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Daniel_W._Nebert
6. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Patrick_Moore_(consultant)
7. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Bastardi
8. https://www.aaas.org/resources/aaas-reaffirms-statement-climate-change