“People Don’t Realize This” about Climate Change, Elon Musk Says

The 'it's natural' argument for inaction on climate change fails because humans have only existed for about 300,000 years and have never experienced CO₂ levels as high as current levels, and the rise is happening too rapidly for natural selection (which takes tens of thousands of years) to allow adaptation

“The problem with the its natural argument is that humans have only existed for about 300,000 years we've never experienced carbon dioxide levels as high as they are now and the levels are rising incredibly quickly neither we nor other species on this planet have time to adapt by natural selection this would take tens of thousands of years at best”

The human body extracts oxygen from air to survive, generating CO₂ which is exhaled; exhalation depends on diffusion of CO₂ from the blood back into the atmosphere at the lungs, and higher atmospheric CO₂ makes this diffusion more difficult, causing CO₂ to accumulate in the blood and lower blood pH

“the human body extracts oxygen from the air to keep itself alive that process generates carbon dioxide which we exhale or try to Exhale and that's the problem the exhalation relies on the diffusion of carbon dioxide back into the atmosphere from our blood at the surface of the lungs but the higher the carbon dioxide level in the air the more difficult it becomes to get rid of this car carbon dioxide as a consequence carbon dioxide builds up in the blood which lowers the pH value”

Climate change will become problematic long before atmospheric CO₂ becomes physiologically toxic, primarily because climate zones will shift making huge parts of the planet too hot, dry, or humid to be habitable, forcing hundreds of millions of people to relocate

“climate change will become problematic long before that primarily because climate zones shift huge parts of the planet will become too hot or too dry or too humid to live there and hundreds of millions of people will try to relocate this is the most pressing problem with climate change”

Humans and other species are adapted to the pre-industrial climate, so if the climate changes too rapidly due to ongoing fossil fuel burning, biodiversity will collapse, food chains will break down, and ecosystem collapse cannot be prevented through social media activism or political action

“we and everything around us is adapted to the pre-industrial climate if we continue changing the climate too rapidly biodiversity will falter food chains will fall apart and no amount of Twitter outrage will fix a planetary ecosystem collapse not even in all caps”

Very high CO₂ concentrations in the blood (above 5% in the air, more than 10 times the highest historical levels) eventually lead to unconsciousness and death even if sufficient oxygen is present

“too high carbon dioxide concentrations in the blood eventually lead to unconsciousness and death even if sufficient oxygen is present in the air but that it take more than 5% of carbon dioxide in the air that's more than 10 times above even the highest levels we had half a billion years ago”

School classrooms, factories, and public places have CO₂ sensors and regulations requiring windows to be opened if CO₂ exceeds 1,000 ppm, preventing indoor air quality from becoming as bad as outdoor air

“that's why many School classrooms and factories and public places have carbon dioxide sensors and regulation saying that if the level exceeds 1,000 PPM open a window you don't want to get into a situation where the air outside is as bad as inside”

If CO₂ levels in the atmosphere continue to increase indefinitely, they will eventually make breathing uncomfortable for humans

“if if you if you just keep increasing the PO million in the atmosphere uh long enough eventually it actually simply gets uncomfortable to uh to breathe”

Approximately 50 million years ago, atmospheric CO₂ levels were above 1,000 ppm, and about 500 million years ago they are believed to have been above 5,000 ppm

“about 50 million years ago they were above 1,000 PPM if you look back to about 500 million years they're believed to have been above 5,000 PPM”

Multiple studies have found that atmospheric CO₂ concentrations above 1,000 ppm negatively affect physical well-being; a 2017 study found that around 1,000 ppm people begin to experience headaches and impaired decision-making

“multiple Studies have found that carbon dioxide concentrations above 1,000 PPM start to negatively affect physical well-being one why ly cited study from 2017 found for example that somewhere around 1,000 parts per million people begin to complain of headaches and their decision-making capabilities are impaired”