Increasing CO2 levels worsens human decision making
Two studies directly tested cognitive function vs CO2 level, and both found that performance drops as CO2 levels increase. They both tested many different aspects of cognition, and the results are best summarized in the two images below:
The first one has a legend that documents the CO2 levels. The second one uses aliases for them, so to translate, conventional is ~950 ppm, green is ~750 ppm, and green+ is ~550 ppm. To summarize the results in text:
- increasing CO2 levels led to worse performance in 7 of the 9 tasks tested in the first study
- the average drop in performance is ~20% for a 400 ppm increase in CO2 in the second study
Increasing CO2 levels lowers sleep quality
Increased CO2 levels in classrooms are associated with more student absences
A 1000 ppm increase in CO2 levels was associated with a 10-20% increase in absences in 434 classrooms in 22 schools.
Increased CO2 levels in the space station are associated with more astronaut headaches
A 1300 ppm increase in CO2 levels was associated with a doubling of the chance that an astronaut reported a headache.
Increased cockpit CO2 levels lower pilot performance
30 pilots were tested at 700, 1500, and 2500 ppm, and their performance declined with increasing CO2 concentrations.
Why does this matter?
CO2 levels have been in the 150-300 ppm range for basically all of human history and definitely all of modern history:
In the past couple hundred years, we have pumped huge amounts of carbon into the atmosphere and raised these levels. We are continuing to do so. We are currently over 400 ppm and are raising the level by ~2 ppm per year. The rate at which we raise it is increasing:
Since indoor levels are higher than outdoor levels, we are raising the minimum CO2 level in the air we breathe, and the sources above paint a clear picture of how negative that is for us.
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