Nature and Environment  Because at 160,000 years, the party is
just getting started.  Fossil Fuel and Atmospheric Levels of
Carbon Dioxide  1/9/2011 8:33:59 AM  Tags: Fossil Fuels,
Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide, Carbon Isotopes, Human Activties and
Greenhouse Gases, Richard Hilderman  The atmosphere can handle
about 700 billion tons of carbon.  Atmospheric carbon dioxide
levels have been increasing since the industrial revolution. 
Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas which acts like a blanket in
the atmosphere to trap heat (see my posting entitled Solar
Activity, Greenhouse Gas Levels and Climate Change on Our
Earth).  Today the atmosphere contains about 800 billion tons of
carbon and it continues to rise.  How do we know that the
burning of carbon-based fossil fuels like coal, oil and natural
gas contribute to the atmospheric carbon overload?   Carbon has
a unique footprint which allows scientists to determine whether
the burning of fossil fuel contributes to the atmospheric carbon
overload.  Carbon is composed