If CO2 is indeed messing with our blood, it’s no wonder. During the early rise of Homo sapiens, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere measured a consistent 280 parts per million (ppm). Those conditions prevailed until roughly the middle of the 18th century when the Industrial Revolution began pouring greenhouse gasses into the air from factory smokestacks. By 1900, CO2 levels had risen to nearly 300 ppm; by 1980, that figure had jumped to nearly 330 ppm. Since then the numbers have exploded, standing at 425 ppm today.
The period the NHANES researchers surveyed was a particularly bad one for the planet when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions, since in just those 21 years, U.S. CO2 levels rose from 369 ppm to 420 ppm. In their work, Bierwirth and Larcombe were looking for rising levels of serum bicarbonate, a chemical marker associated with rising levels of CO2—and they found just that, with a 7% jump in bicarbonate over the 21 years.
But bicarbonate can do only so much, and even over relatively small stretches, higher levels of CO2 in the blood can take a toll. “From short-term studies at moderately elevated CO2 (the sort of levels common in poorly ventilated rooms),” wrote Larcombe, “that means headache, tiredness, and declines in concentration and decision-making. Over longer periods, animal studies raise the possibility of oxidative stress, inflammation, tissue calcification in the kidneys and arteries, and effects on bone.”
“Falling calcium and phosphorus in blood is what you'd broadly expect if that [CO2] storage process were being asked to do more work,” says Larcombe. Here too, bodily functions may suffer. “Low calcium (hypocalcaemia) produces muscle cramps, lethargy, numbness and tingling in the fingers, and disturbances of heart rhythm. Low phosphorus (hypophosphataemia) can lead to weakness, fatigue and impaired oxygen delivery.” The good news is, we’re not there yet, with Lacrombe stressing that such symptoms would occur only at “much higher CO2 concentrations than today’s atmosphere.”
As with so much concerning the environment, it will be young people who will pay the highest price for the mess preceding generations have made. Not only are growing bodies more susceptible to environmental toxins, but babies born into the current world will be alive for more of the latter decades in which atmospheric CO2 will be at its highest—assuming more stringent curbs on greenhouse emissions are not put in place now. Most projections call for atmospheric CO2 concentrations to reach 500-plus PPM by mid-century, a level that will exceed tolerable carbon dioxide levels in the blood, Larcombe says.
“I think that what we are seeing is because our bodies are not adapting,” said Bierwirth in a statement that accompanied the release of the study. “Maybe we can never adapt.”
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