Originally Posted by
Winged Wheeler
For perspective:
CO2 is about 0.04% of our atmosphere. It is classified as one of the trace gases. The mass of the atmosphere is in the peta ton (10^15) order of magnitude.
Human economic activity releases something like 30 giga tons (10^9) of CO2/year. The total CO2 released each year is just under 800 gigatons/year; this total includes human economic activity, animal respiration, organic decomposition, and other releases from soil, rocks, and the oceans. Thus, CO2 released by human economic activity is about 3% of total annual emissions from all sources.
Almost all (more than 98%) of the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is reabsorbed each year. The CO2 left over is the source of the increasing atmospheric CO2 about which some people are concerned.
WW
And the point is?
If you're using CO2 levels in percentages (as opposed to Parts Per Million) in order to make the effect seem insignificant, then it isn't working.
How Much CO2 Is in the Atmosphere and Can That Level Have Dramatic Effects? | Union of Concerned Scientists
As for natural absorption;
Earth still absorbing CO2 even as emissions rise, says new CU-led study | University of Colorado Boulder