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This is actually very simple, carbon in the world exists in many different reserviors, of which atmospheric carbon dioxide is but one of them. Each of the reserviors dynamically interacts with the others, so its not as simple as just considering one reservior. For instance, some of the CO2 that is going into the air dissolves into the ocean, and then is no longer in the air. While the CO2 in the air is what we are worried about in terms of climate, it is only one part of an interrelated system, so it is necessary to consider the entire system to understand what is happening. This system is called the "Carbon cycle" (not carbon dioxide cycle), and the wikipedia has a nice overview of it here:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carbon_cycle
I can see how the writer might think this doesn't make sense, but once you understand the bigger picture, it is perfectly correct.
