Carbon dioxide is the «greenhouse» gas scientists say is most responsible for global warming. Last year’s increase in CO2 was nearly double the average pace since measurements began in 1979
As President Trump announced the U. S. withdrawal from the landmark Paris climate agreement last week, federal scientists reported 2016 tallied the second-largest rise in atmospheric carbon dioxide ever recorded.
Carbon dioxide is the «greenhouse» gas scientists say is most responsible for global warming. Last year’s increase in CO2 was nearly double the average pace since measurements began in 1979, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said.
The gas is measured in parts per million (ppm) of Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide levels were around 280 ppm prior to the Industrial Revolution in the late 1800s, when large amounts of greenhouse gases started to be emitted into the atmosphere due to human activity.
The burning of the oil, gas and coal for energy releases greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. These gases have caused the Earth’s temperature to rise over the past century to levels that cannot be explained by natural processes alone.
Today, CO2 levels measure over 400 ppm. While that may not sound like a huge increase, scientists have known for decades that even trace amounts in the atmosphere can raise temperatures around the world. Atmospheric CO2 hasn’t been at this level in thousands, or perhaps millions of years.
The goal of the Paris climate agreement, which President Trump withdrew the U. S. from last week, is for nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases to prevent rising global temperatures.
According to NOAA, the annual rate of growth of CO2 in a given year is the difference in concentration between the end of December and the start of January. It represents the sum of all CO2 added to and removed from the atmosphere over the course of the year by human activities and natural processes.
In the 1980s and 1990s, the CO2 level increased at about 1.5 ppm each year. Last year, it rose 2.93 ppm. The highest growth rate was recorded in 2015 at 2.96 ppm, said NOAA spokesman Theo Stein.
Higher global temperatures are predicted to cause rising sea levels, more frequent heat waves and wildfires, and huge losses of ice in the Arctic and Antarctic.
«The warming effect of these chemicals we’re tracking has increased by 40% since 1990, » Steve Montzka, a NOAA scientist who co-authored the update, told Inside Climate News . «Even though emissions are leveling off, CO2 is so long-lived that the concentration is still increasing.»

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What’s next for PS VR? Where have Media Molecules’ Dreams gone? And what the hell is Death Stranding about?
Update: Since publishing this article one of our dreams has been dashed. Hideo Kojima has confirmed that we won’t see Death Stranding at E3 this year. Perhaps next year? confirmed
If there’s a gaming battleground for Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo, there’s no bigger arena than the E3 stage. The annual face-off sees the big three names in game development puff their chests out (even if Nintendo does so from the comfort of its ‘Direct’ YouTube studio) , showing off the wares it’s hoping to win you over with in time for populating those Christmas wishlists.
Sony has had a stonking few years singing the praises of its leading PlayStation 4 console, and has managed to bag a number of great exclusive third-party reveals (Shenmue 3, Final Fantasy VII Remake) as well as showing off its own internal big hitters (PlayStation VR and God of War among many others) in recent times. PlayStation 4 PlayStation VR
This year could be different though – with its PS4 Pro already out on shelves, and reported to be less powerful than the Project Scorpio console hardware that Microsoft is slated to reveal, it’ ll have to work very hard to keep its enviable lead over the competition. PS4 Pro Project Scorpio
But, if it delivers even just a few of our six most-wanted things at this year’s show, it’ ll be in with chance. Here’s what we want to see from Sony and PlayStation at E3 2017. E3 2017
What the hell even is Death Stranding? We’ ve had Hideo Kojima waxing lyrical over his new title for some time now, but a handful of trailers later we still don’ t know what it’s going to be like. It’ ll have an open world, it’ ll have Norman Reedus in it, and Mads Mikkelsen. Director Guillermo Del Toro’s likeness will also be used. Apart from that (and a nudey Reedus crying over a baby and some…dead whales?) Death Stranding
So E3 2017 is definitely the time to finally reveal some actual Death Stranding gameplay. Safe money’s on it being a quest to find Reedus some new underpants, with his previous mucky pair having caused an ecological beach disaster. At least that’s what we’ ve pulled from that crazy first trailer…
It launched to great fanfare, was priced sensibly and delivered a virtual reality experience that felt leagues ahead of what its price tag would suggest it should have been capable of (while not feeling too far behind the more expensive competition) , but it’s starting to feel a little bit like Sony has fell out of love with its PlayStation VR headset.
Though releasing alongside a solid launch line-up that included big names like Eve: Valkyrie and a short but oh-so-sweet Batman Arkham experience, there’s not been much to write home about since. Farpoint VR was great, and Resident Evil 7 was a brave whole-hearted attempt at re-imagining the series for virtual reality. But, for key mid-cycle hardware, there’s not been a flood of AAA titles to accompany the headset.
We love the PS VR headset, but if it’s going to have a long term life, Sony needs to put a big push behind it at this year’s E3. We’ re craving a full-length Star Wars X-Wing VR game after the Battlefront tease – Sony would have us screaming with joy if this one made an appearance. A look at the VR mode of Gran Turismo Sport, or something from Sony’s Manchester Studio (which was specifically built for VR) would be reassuring, too. Star Wars X-Wing VR game
This year marks 20 years since the launch of Final Fantasy VII, the most-highly revered classic JRPG of all time. It stole the show at 2015’s Sony E3 event once again, when developers Square Enix announced that the long-awaited remake was indeed in development.
Never committing to a firm release date (made even more wooly by its episodic nature) we’ ve had a drip feed of info ever since. But there’s been recent warning signs to suggest that all may not be well surrounding the development of the game, with Square putting out an unusually-widely broadcast request for new staff to work on the game. It’s a massively ambitious project, and while we don’ t expect to see much more on it for a long time to come, some words of reassurance that all is well would soothe our fears.
Whether you thought the first Last of Us game was the single greatest moment in all gaming history – the promise of ‘games as art’ come good – or a self-important slog through a dreary stealth apocalypse, there’s no denying the impact it made.
And, likewise, the announcement of a follow up from super-developers Naughty Dog sent the gaming world into meltdown. It showed off an (apparently-in-engine) cinematic trailer for the game, revealing you’ d now play as an older Ellie, child star of the first game. But as for actual gameplay footage? None has emerged. So here’s hoping someone at Sony can click their fingers (or their fungus-infected mandibles) and get some on show at E3.
Sony’s first-party dev team at Media Molecule have made some of PlayStation’s most distinctive games, including Little Big Planet and Tearaway. The titles have often focussed around user-generated content, and their next game, Dreams, looks to do the same, on an epic scale.
Giving the player the freedom to create ‘dreams’ for other gamers to play, it takes the level-building ideas of LBP, and expands them to a grand canvas.
But will its ambition be its downfall? We’ ve heard little from the super-promising game in the last 12 months, so some concrete release details would make our dreams come true, as would a glimpse at its touted PS VR mode.
The studio behind the Infamous and Sly Cooper series, Sucker Punch is another first-party PlayStation dev team that have been suspiciously quiet recently. We’ ve not heard of any new project details, with the company keeping their heads down since launching the PS4 Pro remasters of InFamous Second Son and First Light back in November 2016.
So, with no new title since the First Light spin-off in two and a half years ago, they’ re well overdue a comeback. Having made a spectacular entrance on the PS4 Pro, they’ re obviously masters of Sony’s latest hardware, so we’ d expect something special when they do show their hand. E3 2017: Everything you need to know about this year’s gaming extravaganza E3 2017: Everything you need to know about this year’s gaming extravaganza

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The president of Uber’s Asia business was terminated after reporters questioned why he obtained medical records of a woman attacked by her Uber driver.
Uber has fired an executive who obtained medical records of a woman who had been raped by her Uber driver in India, the latest example of misconduct unearthed at the ride-hailing giant.
Eric Alexander, Uber’s president of business in Asia, was terminated on Tuesday for his actions after reporters began asking questions about the episode, according to three people familiar with it who requested anonymity because they were not authorized to speak publicly about the matter.
Mr. Alexander’s possession of the medical report was widely known among top executives inside the company, including Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, these people said.
The episode is another example of what has been described as a toxic, aggressive environment at Uber that current and former employees say goes to the very top ranks of the company. Uber is currently in the middle of two internal investigations into its employees’ conduct and its culture.
On Tuesday, the company announced it had fired 20 employees over the last few months related to issues raised in one investigation, while dozens of others remained on notice or in training programs to help deal with the issues. Mr. Alexander was not among those employees.
Mr. Alexander, who was based in Hong Kong, obtained the report at the end of 2014 after it was made public that a woman accused her Uber driver of sexually assaulting her after she dozed off on a ride to her home in the Delhi region, the people said.
Mr. Alexander said he believed the episode was part of a conspiracy against Uber on behalf of Ola, the incumbent ride-hailing company in India and one of Uber’s largest Asian competitors. He spent time in India investigating the matter, and shared his concerns with Mr. Kalanick and Emil Michael, Uber’s senior vice president of business, who were also fixated on the case.
Uber declined to comment on the firing and Mr. Alexander did not respond to a request for comment. Recode first reported news of his departure.

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