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Direct Impact on Human Health of
Rapidly Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
 Carbon dioxide gas is toxic to
humans. While the dangerous effects of breathing high levels of CO2 are well
known, there has been little attention to the lower levels that, with
continuing emissions, will soon pervade our environment. From short-term
exposure studies, there are known health effects at only ten times the
current ambient atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide. Although longer
term exposure studies are scarce, there is evidence that the actual safe
level of carbon dioxide for breathing is much lower when considering a
lifetime exposure. The possibility exists that well before the end of this
century, carbon dioxide levels will be such that the human lifespan will be
significantly shortened due to the failure of the body's compensatory
mechanisms under long-term exposure. As such there is a credible risk of
approaching extinction of many species including humans.
Read More: Bierwirth, P.N., 2023. Long-term carbon dioxide toxicity
and climate change: a major unapprehended risk for human health. Science
Review. (Updated 7 Jul 2023)
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Human Tissue Calcification due to
Increasing Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide
As atmospheric carbon dioxide
(CO2) increases, evidence demonstrates an associated rise in CO2 concentration
in human blood. The increase in serum CO2 drives an increase in the activity
of carbonic anhydrase; the enzyme involved in the metabolic conversion of
CO2. This increased enzyme activity is associated with the deposition of
calcium carbonate in human tissue. Calcification resulting from breathing
elevated CO2 has been observed in animal experiments and there is also an
increasing trend in kidney calcification in humans worldwide. As climate
change proceeds, future increases in CO2-induced calcification of human
tissue may be a serious existential threat.
Read More: Bierwirth, P.N., 2022.
Long-term exposure to climate change levels of atmospheric CO2 may cause kidney
and cardiovascular disease Science Review. (Updated 8 April 2022)
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Carbon dioxide is making us
dumber
 Human intelligence is known to
be declining due to an unknown environmental factor. It is feasible that the reduction
in cognitive abilities is due to increasing CO2 in indoor environments
influenced by rising atmospheric CO2. Cognitive decline due to CO2, evidenced
by a number of strong studies, would logically produce lower intelligence
scores in tests and that is what actual worldwide IQ test scores are showing.
As outdoor CO2 increases to projected levels in the future, there will be no
escape from this effect unless significant numbers of humans can live in
modified low CO2 indoor environments.
Read More: Bierwirth, P.N., 2018. Are
increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide levels lowering our intelligence?(Updated
13 Nov 2018)
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SEE CLIMATE CHANGE RELATED PUBLICATIONS BY THE CONSULTANT:
McVicar, T.R, and Bierwirth, P.N., (2001)
Rapidly assessing the 1997 drought in Papua New Guinea using composite AVHRR
imagery. International Journal of Remote Sensing 22(11), pp 2109 2128.
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