Scientist clears up common misconception about alarming statistic: 'It's going up every year'
Just because something is small, that doesn't mean it can't be mighty.
A climate scientist on TikTok reacted to an exchange between former United States Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg and a Republican in which the latter questioned the former's understanding of the percentage of atmospheric gases in Earth's atmosphere.
@dougmcneall ♬ original sound - Dr. Doug McNeall
Dr. Doug McNeall initially explained that the concentration is "tiny," but that's not exactly indicative of its impact. Dr. McNeall's video was recorded in 2023, at which time he said there was 0.04% of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere — or around 416 parts per million. In January 2025, NASA reported the measurement was 427 parts per million.
However, Dr. McNeall observed that it's not how tiny that measurement is that matters; it's how potent CO2 is as a planet-warming gas. What's more, Dr. McNeall said that in the pre-industrial period, before the regular burning of dirty fuels, that figure was about 280 ppm. That increase is unsustainable, and "it's going up every year."
More CO2 means the atmosphere becomes "a more effective blanket," trapping heat that increases global temperatures and leads to "ice sheets melting, sea-level rise, [an] increase in the hydrological cycle so you get more flooding, [and] more heat waves."
Dr. McNeall noted that questions like the one asked by the Republican are posed to allow the responder to point out that tiny figure, which can easily be dismissed as unimportant and supposed "evidence" that rising CO2 levels are insignificant. But that's not the case at all.
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In fact, as NASA observed, "Since the onset of industrial times in the 18th century, human activities have raised atmospheric CO2 by 50% — meaning the amount of CO2 is now 150% of its value in 1750. This human-induced rise is greater than the natural increase observed at the end of the last ice age 20,000 years ago."
But, to riff on Dr. McNeall's observation, even if something is small, it can still be impactful. That's why positive changes in lifestyle can make a real difference in reducing the amount of carbon we produce daily.
Walking or cycling more instead of driving, eating more plant-based meals, avoiding single-use plastics, and investing in renewable energy are all ways in which we can minimize the planet-warming pollution we're responsible for and keep our planet cool.
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Scientist clears up common misconception about alarming statistic: 'It's going up every year' first appeared on The Cool Down.
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