Just when you thought you knew all of the ways that mankind is doomed and how we are all going to burn / freeze / *insert environmental catastrophe here* then along comes another one.

Now we’re all going to die of oxygen reduction, and guess who is at fault?

New research shows oxygen depletion in the atmosphere has been accelerating since 2003, coinciding with the biofuels boom.

Yup, Mankind.

The Institute of Science in Society (SiS) which published the research says that climate policies that focus exclusively on carbon sequestration could be disastrous for all oxygen-breathing organisms including humans.

Sadly, action to tackle climate change mitigating policies are almost all aimed at reducing CO2 without considering other climate change factors.

Damned if you do, damned if you don’t. So, have fun, and leave a good looking corpse.

Dr. Mae-Wan Ho who compiled the research, reports that within the past several years, scientists have found that oxygen (O2) in the atmosphere has been dropping, and at higher rates than just the amount that goes into the increase of CO2 from burning fossil fuels, some 2 to 4-times as much, and accelerating since 2002-2003. Simultaneously, oxygen levels in the world’s oceans have also been falling. Although the causes for the sudden acceleration in oxygen depletion are yet unclear, changes to natural ecosystems through deforestation and the expansion of agriculture could be playing a significant role.

So, they have no clue what the causes are, but, hey, why not blame it on Mankind through a leap of logic? But, yeah, about those trees. Oh, and here, too. And here.