Atmospheric CO2 at Mauna Loa

Atmospheric CO2 above Hawaii and the roster of certified exorcists in America, climbing together. The carbon does not need an exorcism, although you can see why someone might suggest one. The numbers are doing whatever numbers do.

Mauna Loa CO2 readings rose from about 380 ppm in 2005 to over 415 by 2021 as global fossil-fuel emissions outpaced sinks. The American exorcist roster grew from a handful in the early 2000s to over a hundred today, after the Vatican loosened authorisation rules in 2014 and dioceses responded to perceived demand. Both lines reflect cumulative processes that simply add: CO2 because the input keeps exceeding the absorption, exorcists because the rite keeps being requested without anyone retiring on schedule. The decade was additive in both registers.

Two graphs that only know how to go up. Cumulative things have their own gravity.