USA Today ‘fact-checks’ Milloy tweet as correct

But USA Today can’t do emissions math and misses the point.

Here’s my tweet:

Here is the USA Today ‘fact check’: Web | PDF.

First, USA Today acknowledges that the graph in the tweet is correct and April 1895 was warmer than April 2023.

Next, USA Today erroneously disputes my observation about the “1,000% increase in industrial era atmospheric CO2.”

But the pre-industrial era atmospheric CO2 level is estimated as 280 parts per million (ppm). By 1895, it is estimated to be about 293 ppm and now it is about 424 ppm.

Since the preindustrial era, about 144 ppm of CO2 has been added to the atmosphere. But by 1893, only 13 ppm had been added. If you subtract the 1893 addition from the 2023 addition of industrial era atmospheric CO2, you get 131 ppm of industrial era atmospheric CO2 added between 1895 and 2023. As 131 ppm is roughly 10 times 13 ppm, industrial era atmospheric CO2 has increased 1,000% from 1895 to 2023.

While NOAA’s statement that industrial era atmospheric CO2 has increased 50% over pre-industrial atmospheric CO2 is correct, that is not relevant to the point in question — i.e., since 1895, industrial era atmospheric CO2 has increased 1,000% yet April 2023 was cooler than April 1895.

The rest of USA Today‘s argument over my interpretation of the April 1895 to April 2023 comparison is just that — i.e., argument — not a “fact check.”

The emissions-driven global warming narrative is that every emission warms the planet. But that certainly was not the case as between April 1895 and April 2023, now is it?