--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Human releases of carbon dioxide are…" description: "\"Human releases of carbon dioxide are almost certainly happening faster than any natural carbon release since the beginning of life on Earth.\" — Mark Lynas" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg" --- # Human releases of carbon dioxide are almost certainly… ![“Human releases of carbon dioxide are almost certainly happening faster than any natural carbon release since the beginning of life on Earth.” quote by Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg) > “Human releases of carbon dioxide are almost certainly happening faster than any natural carbon release since the beginning of life on Earth.” [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human CO₂ emissions now exceed natural geological releases, accelerating climate change beyond Earth’s historic baseline. **In simple terms:** Human CO₂ outpaces natural emissions. Key Takeaway Reduce emissions urgently. Themes climate environment anthropogenic change Mood urgent concerned Type scientific activist When to use this quote - policy making - energy transition - public education Key Concepts climatology geology Questions to Reflect On - What actions can individuals take? - How can societies balance growth and climate? A Different Perspective Economic interests resist change. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Beginning of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-of-life/) [Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon/) [Carbon dioxide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-dioxide/) [Carbon Release](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-release-6130197/) [Climate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate/) [Climate change](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/climate-change/) [Dioxide Certainly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/dioxide-certainly-6130196/) [Earth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/earth/) [Faster](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/faster/) [Happenings](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/happenings/) [Humans](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/humans/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Natural](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural/) [Natural Carbon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/natural-carbon-6130195/) [Release](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/release/) ## Related quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Senator Hillary Clinton is attacking President Bush for breaking his campaign promise to cut carbon dioxide emissions, saying a promise made, a promise broken.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/craig-kilborn/senator-hillary-clinton-is-attacking-president-bush-for-breaking-his/) [Craig Kilborn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/craig-kilborn/) > [It's not the case that carbon dioxide drives temperatures. When you leave Ice Ages, it's the other way around: The temperatures go up first,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/piers-corbyn/it-s-not-the-case-that-carbon-dioxide-drives-temperatures-when-you/) [Piers Corbyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/piers-corbyn/) > [I am hoping that the scientists and politicians who have been blindly demonizing carbon dioxide for 37 years will one day open their eyes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/freeman-dyson/i-am-hoping-that-the-scientists-and-politicians-who-have-been-blindly/) [Freeman Dyson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/freeman-dyson/) > [It’s time to move the debate past the dogmatic view that carbon dioxide is evil and toward a world view that accepts the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bryce/it-s-time-to-move-the-debate-past-the-dogmatic-view-that-carbon/) [Robert Bryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bryce/) > [Carbon dioxide pollution is transforming the chemistry of the ocean, rapidly making the water more acidic. In decades, rising ocean acidity may challenge life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/carbon-dioxide-pollution-is-transforming-the-chemistry-of-the-ocean/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-over-26-billion/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Centuries-old habitats such as coral gardens are destroyed in an instant by bottom trawls, pulverized by weighted nets into barren plains. And global carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/centuries-old-habitats-such-as-coral-gardens-are-destroyed-in-an/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [I know that nuclear is better than fossil fuels when it comes to carbon dioxide, but nuclear energy is by no means clean. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-know-that-nuclear-is-better-than-fossil-fuels-when-it-comes-to/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-petrini/if-food-was-no-longer-obliged-to-make-intercontinental-journeys-but/) [Carlo Petrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-petrini/) > [ \[The doctrine of air\] I was led into in consequence of inhabiting a house adjoining to a public brewery, where I at first amused… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-priestley/the-doctrine-of-air-i-was-led-into-in-consequence-of-inhabiting-a/) [Joseph Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-priestley/) > [As we pump greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, making the seawater acidic and hostile for shellfish and corals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/as-we-pump-greenhouse-gases-into-our-atmosphere-the-ocean-absorbs/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [The Earth is warming but physical evidence from around the world tells us that human-emitted carbon dioxide has played only a minor role in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fred-singer/the-earth-is-warming-but-physical-evidence-from-around-the-world/) [Fred Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fred-singer/) ## More by Mark Lynas > [You'd be forgiven for thinking that climate change means we'll have to sacrifice our creature comforts. But it doesn't have to be that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/you-d-be-forgiven-for-thinking-that-climate-change-means-we-ll-have/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [At 1.24 am on 26 April 1986 Chernobyl’s Unit 4 reactor exploded after staff disabled safety systems and performed an ill-advised experiment to check…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/at-1-24-am-on-26-april-1986-chernobyl-s-unit-4-reactor-exploded-after/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [This is like playing Russian roulette with a Luger rather than a revolver. One bullet, one chamber - and we're pulling the trigger.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/this-is-like-playing-russian-roulette-with-a-luger-rather-than-a/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [If we are to save humanity and the planet from the worst mass extinction of all time, worse even than that at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/if-we-are-to-save-humanity-and-the-planet-from-the-worst-mass/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [Only by advocating 'politically unrealistic' CO2 concentrations can runaway global warming be avoided. But what is politically realistic for humans is whollymunrelated to what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/only-by-advocating-politically-unrealistic-co2-concentrations-can/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [Silent Summer - a never-ending heat wave, devoid of birdsong, insect hum, and all the weird and wonderful living noises that subconsciously keep us…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/silent-summer-a-never-ending-heat-wave-devoid-of-birdsong-insect-hum/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [Conventional economic theory... counts the depletion of resources as the accumulation of wealth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/conventional-economic-theory-counts-the-depletion-of-resources-as-the/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [“It would be easy to laugh this off were it not so obviously counterproductive. The idea that tackling climate change means accepting profound levels…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/it-would-be-easy-to-laugh-this-off-were-it-not-so-obviously/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [“First, guilt-tripping doesn’t work as a campaigning strategy. If you make people feel bad about what they do, you must give them a realistic…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/first-guilt-tripping-doesn-t-work-as-a-campaigning-strategy-if-you/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [I am also sorry that I helped to start the anti-GM movement back in the mid 1990s, and that I thereby assisted in demonizing…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/i-am-also-sorry-that-i-helped-to-start-the-anti-gm-movement-back-in/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [We humans, one species of animal amongst millions, have now become the de facto guardians of the planet's climate stability.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/we-humans-one-species-of-animal-amongst-millions-have-now-become-the/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [Our evolutionary psychology preconditions us not to respond to threats which can be postponed until later.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/our-evolutionary-psychology-preconditions-us-not-to-respond-to/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [The worst case scenario sees the Amazon rainforest burning, huge amounts of methane being released by Siberian peat bogs and so on - by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/the-worst-case-scenario-sees-the-amazon-rainforest-burning-huge/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [Unless we decide to reduce greenhouse gas emissions within just a few years from now, our destinies will already be chosen and our path…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/unless-we-decide-to-reduce-greenhouse-gas-emissions-within-just-a-few/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) > [I discovered science, and in the process I hope I became a better environmentalist.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/i-discovered-science-and-in-the-process-i-hope-i-became-a-better/) [Mark Lynas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) [Explore all 22 Mark Lynas quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/) ## More Beginning of life quotes > [“We haven't stopped running, but we are getting slower. We have little people running with us now. We have passed others. Our own people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/n-d-wilson/we-haven-t-stopped-running-but-we-are-getting-slower-we-have-little/) [N.D. Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/n-d-wilson/) > [He is the happiest man who can see the connection between the end and the beginning of life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/he-is-the-happiest-man-who-can-see-the-connection-between-the-end-and/) [Johann Wolfgang von Goethe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/johann-wolfgang-von-goethe/) > [“Bonhoeffer categorically refuses to demythologize the resurrection ... he finally walked to his execution, saying that for him it was the beginning of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/bonhoeffer-categorically-refuses-to-demythologize-the-resurrection-he/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“Therefore walk in love and God will be your salvation in everything. Love is the very center of a spiritual person, because God is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-houge/therefore-walk-in-love-and-god-will-be-your-salvation-in-everything/) [Adam Houge](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-houge/) > [“Think about yourself. You are here because... Your dad met your mom. Then your dad and mom conceived you. So a particular egg in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-krulwich/think-about-yourself-you-are-here-because-your-dad-met-your-mom-then/) [Robert Krulwich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-krulwich/) > [If I am to tell you how to grow old gracefully, I must tell you at the beginning of life; for no man can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyman-abbott/if-i-am-to-tell-you-how-to-grow-old-gracefully-i-must-tell-you-at-the/) [Lyman Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyman-abbott/) > [“Live in moment, every day is the new beginning of life and every night is the end of life.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santosh-kalwar/live-in-moment-every-day-is-the-new-beginning-of-life-and-every-night/) [Santosh Kalwar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santosh-kalwar/) > [Experience of the phenomenal capacity of our birthing body can give us an enduring sense of our own power as women. Birth is the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sarah-j-buckley/experience-of-the-phenomenal-capacity-of-our-birthing-body-can-give/) [Sarah J. Buckley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sarah-j-buckley/) > [“But on the whole the impression was neither of tragedy nor of comedy. There was no describing it. It was manifold and various; there…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/w-somerset-maugham/but-on-the-whole-the-impression-was-neither-of-tragedy-nor-of-comedy/) [W. Somerset Maugham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/w-somerset-maugham/) > [A pro-choice advocate sees abortion as a decision to be made in accordance with the best scientific opinion as to when the beginning of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stanley-fish/a-pro-choice-advocate-sees-abortion-as-a-decision-to-be-made-in/) [Stanley Fish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stanley-fish/) > [“What a turnout of events, at the beginning of life was the end of another, at the highest point of joy was the beginning…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/birks-kalulu/what-a-turnout-of-events-at-the-beginning-of-life-was-the-end-of/) [Birks Kalulu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/birks-kalulu/) > [In private many scientists admit that science has no explanation for the beginning of life… Darwin never imagined the exquisitely profound complexity that exists…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-behe/in-private-many-scientists-admit-that-science-has-no-explanation-for/) [Michael Behe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-behe/) > [“Nature’s ultimate goal is to foster the growth of the individual from absolute dependence to independence — or, more exactly, to the interdependence of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gabor-mat/nature-s-ultimate-goal-is-to-foster-the-growth-of-the-individual-from/) [Gabor Maté](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gabor-mat/) > [My parents are aging and there are difficult issues. It's strange to have children at the beginning of life and parents nearing the end.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amy-waldman/my-parents-are-aging-and-there-are-difficult-issues-it-s-strange-to/) [Amy Waldman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amy-waldman/) > [Let every dawn of the morning be to you as the beginning of life. And let every setting of the sun be to you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-ruskin/let-every-dawn-of-the-morning-be-to-you-as-the-beginning-of-life-and/) [John Ruskin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-ruskin/) [Browse all 63 Beginning of life quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/beginning-of-life/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Human releases of carbon dioxide are almost certainly happening faster than any natural carbon release since the beginning of life on Earth.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Mark Lynas" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-almost-certainly-happening/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Beginning of life" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-almost-certainly-happening/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f51/mark-lynas-25831_beginning-of-life_human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-alm_3234228.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Human releases of carbon dioxide are almost certainly happening faster than any natural carbon release since…” — Mark Lynas", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Mark Lynas", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-lynas/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Human releases of carbon dioxide are...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-almost-certainly-happening/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-lynas/human-releases-of-carbon-dioxide-are-almost-certainly-happening/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```