Carbon Dioxide Levels Continue to Rise and Charles Keeling

MAUNA LOA OBSERVATORY, Hawaii — Two gray machines sit inside a pair of utilitarian buildings here, sniffing the fresh breezes that
blow across thousands of miles of ocean.

They make no noise. But once an hour, they spit out a number, and for decades, it has been rising relentlessly.

The first machine of this type was installed on Mauna Loa in the 1950s at the behest of Charles David Keeling, a scientist from San
Diego. His resulting discovery, of the increasing level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, transformed the scientific
understanding of humanity's relationship with the earth. A graph of his findings is inscribed on a wall in Washington as one of the
great achievements of modern science.

Yet, five years after Dr. Keeling's death, his discovery is a focus not of celebration but of conflict. It has become the touchstone
of a worldwide political debate over global warming.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/12/22/science/earth/22carbon.html?_r=2&pagewanted=1&nl=todaysheadlines&emc=a2