Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa

Between 2005 and 2022, babies named Maverick and atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa both increased, correlating at 0.9623 across eighteen years. CO2 has increased every single year since measurement began, making it the most promiscuous correlator in this entire dataset. It will correlate with anything that went up during the same period: baby names, pet food sales, streaming subscriptions, you name it. The climate reading is that everything is getting worse; the naming reading is that everything is getting bolder. The CO2 reading is that it doesn't care what else is happening—it just goes up.

The name Maverick rose to the top 40. CO2 at Mauna Loa grew from roughly 380 ppm to over 420 ppm. CO2 is the most consistently upward-trending metric in any dataset, guaranteeing a strong correlation with any other rising metric.

CO2 correlates with everything because it always goes up. Using atmospheric CO2 as one variable guarantees a strong correlation with any other rising metric, which is a statement about monotonic trends, not about baby names and greenhouse gases.