Click the boxes to explore each topic.

Quantitative Information About Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change

• "plants and animals have enjoyed the benefits of [the greenhouse effect's] warming influence for billions of years"
• "Without the greenhouse effect, Earth's average temperature would fall below freezing"
• "Before the Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was about 280 ppm"
• "in 1958, carbon dioxide concentration was roughly 315 ppm"
• "On May 9, 2013, the daily average concentration of carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time on record."

How can the quantitative information presented in the article be translated into qualitative statements?

• "plants and animals have enjoyed the benefits of [the greenhouse effect's] warming influence for billions of years"
   ○ Billions of years may be expressed as a "large" or "extensive" span of time.

•"Without the greenhouse effect, Earth's average temperature would fall below freezing"
   ○ Below freezing average temperature, which is below zero degrees Celsius, may be expressed as an "uninhabitable" level to indicate that this temperature would not support all life on Earth.

•"Before the Industrial Revolution, the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide was about 280 ppm"
•"in 1958, carbon dioxide concentration was roughly 315 ppm"
   ○ Numerical carbon dioxide readings at Mauna Loa may be translated as showing "significant" increases.

•"On May 9, 2013, the daily average concentration of carbon dioxide measured at Mauna Loa surpassed 400 parts per million for the first time on record."
   ○ The 2013 reading, which was the first ever above 400 ppm, may be described as "historic" or "record setting" to indicate that this is the first time it has happened.

Qualitative Information About Carbon Dioxide and Climate Change

• "These gases absorb warmth from their surroundings and re-radiate some of it back toward Earth's surface, slowing the rate at which the planet loses heat."
• "human activities are now increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, amplifying the natural warming"
• "we have burned more fossil fuels each decade, releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide"

How can the qualitative information presented in the article be translated into quantitative statements?

• "These gases absorb warmth from their surroundings and re-radiate some of it back toward Earth's surface, slowing the rate at which the planet loses heat."
   ○ Non-specific qualitative terms such as some and slowing may be replaced with quantitative data to show the actual rate of heat radiation.

• "human activities are now increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere, amplifying the natural warming"
   ○ The term amplifying may be quantified by incorporating global temperature data to show exactly how much the temperatures have increased.

• "we have burned more fossil fuels each decade, releasing vast amounts of carbon dioxide"
   ○ The more fossil fuels that humans have burned may be quantified by providing the actual amount of oil, gas and coal that have been consumed.
   ○ The vast amounts of carbon dioxide that have been released may be quantified.