---
title: Getting Across the History of Carbon
date: 2009-11-06T01:40:03Z
modified: 2009-11-06T01:40:58Z
permalink: "https://350.org/getting-across-history-carbon/"
type: post
status: publish
excerpt: In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania.  For all of human history, our co2 levels hovered around 280 ppm--until 200 years ago when at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution they began to rise sharply as we
wpid: 13829
author: Bill McKibben
---

In Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. For all of human history, our co2 levels hovered around 280 ppm–until 200 years ago when at the dawn of the Industrial Revolution they began to rise sharply as we learned to burn coal and gas and oil. They’re at 390 today–and we have to get back at least to 350 to have a chance of resuming life as we’ve known it!![](https://farm3.static.flickr.com/2553/4040306138_6ddf387220.jpg)