Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Could Make Us Dumber
Rising Carbon Dioxide Levels Could Make Us Dumber
From "I F***ing Love Science" on Facebook (no link)
BY TOM HALE 27 APR 2020, 18:41
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Not only will our planet’s fossil fuel addiction lead to a climate crisis, but it might even harm our ability to think.
New research has suggested that carbon dioxide concentrations in our indoor spaces could lead to impaired human cognition by the end of the century. Of course, this dreary fate could be avoided if the world successfully curtails carbon emissions, although ironically this hidden impact of climate change could actually hamper our ability to solve the problem itself.
Air with a high concentration of carbon dioxide can lift the carbon dioxide levels in our blood, reducing the amount of oxygen that reaches our brain, increasing our sleepiness, levels of anxiety, and impairing our cognitive function. It’s an effect similar to the cloudy-headed, sleepy feeling you get after sitting in a stuffy room for hours.
Ever since we started rampant fossil-fuel burning in the 19th century, levels of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere have been creeping upwards and currently stand at over 410 parts per million (ppm), higher than at any point in at least the past 800,000 years. By 2100, outdoor carbon dioxide levels could be as high as 930 ppm if current emission trends continue, while indoor concentrations could be as high as 1400 ppm – a level far higher than levels ever experienced by humans.
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