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Carbon Dioxide Fertilization Greening Earth, Study Finds
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:18 pm
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:18 pm
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While the earth is trying mightily to process the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere by humans (mainly China and India), nature may be losing the battle. From the article linked below, the average amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has crossed the 400 ppm mark.
Climate scientists are fearful that we're approaching a level that isn't reversible. The earth can't take the CO2 out of the air as fast as it's being put in by manufacturing in China and India.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide soars past crucial milestone
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From a quarter to half of Earth’s vegetated lands has shown significant greening over the last 35 years largely due to rising levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide, according to a new study published in the journal Nature Climate Change on April 25.
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While rising carbon dioxide concentrations in the air can be beneficial for plants, it is also the chief culprit of climate change. The gas, which traps heat in Earth’s atmosphere, has been increasing since the industrial age due to the burning of oil, gas, coal and wood for energy and is continuing to reach concentrations not seen in at least 500,000 years. The impacts of climate change include global warming, rising sea levels, melting glaciers and sea ice as well as more severe weather events.
The beneficial impacts of carbon dioxide on plants may also be limited, said co-author Dr. Philippe Ciais, associate director of the Laboratory of Climate and Environmental Sciences, Gif-suv-Yvette, France. “Studies have shown that plants acclimatize, or adjust, to rising carbon dioxide concentration and the fertilization effect diminishes over time.”
While the earth is trying mightily to process the CO2 being pumped into the atmosphere by humans (mainly China and India), nature may be losing the battle. From the article linked below, the average amount of CO2 in the atmosphere has crossed the 400 ppm mark.
Climate scientists are fearful that we're approaching a level that isn't reversible. The earth can't take the CO2 out of the air as fast as it's being put in by manufacturing in China and India.
Atmospheric carbon dioxide soars past crucial milestone
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Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:24 pm to Kentucker
That would explain the oak sapling that recently sprouted out of my arse. The more you know.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:27 pm to five_fivesix
Well, when you let squirrels put their nuts in your arse you shouldn't be surprised when some wood appears.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:28 pm to Kentucker
yea, those little frickers
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:29 pm to five_fivesix
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:32 pm to Kentucker
Well, we've used wood and arse in this thread......Stacked will be here any minute.
Posted on 5/23/16 at 10:36 pm to five_fivesix
Dat wooden arse.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 7:57 am to Kentucker
I paid good money pumping co2 into my grow room, up to 1500 co2 ppm... Plants can take it, it's the deforestation that's killing us here. Half hour+ exposure to these levels left a gnarly headache.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 10:01 am to MoarKilometers
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paid good money pumping co2 into my grow room, up to 1500 co2 ppm...
Did you get good production from your plants? They surely benefitted from the high CO2 level, but that was probably over-fertilizing.
Be sure to supply them with plenty of the other necessary elements for growing, too. High CO2 alone won't do the trick.
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Plants can take it, it's the deforestation that's killing us here. Half hour+ exposure to these levels left a gnarly headache.
Plants want it. It's what they "breathe." It's like people adding oxygen to the air they take in. It makes us feel good.
Of course, there's a cut-off point where there's no additional beneficial effect. Also, adding too much can create a problem. Too much of a good thing...
That's why you got a headache after a while in the room with elevated CO2. It was a not-so-subtle notice from your body that it didn't like what you were breathing in.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 2:32 pm to Kentucker
The ultimate hippie conundrum....The resulting CO2 from our pollution is indirectly good for the plants. WHAT DO YOU DO.....WHAT DO YOU DO! ?!?!?!
This post was edited on 5/24/16 at 2:33 pm
Posted on 5/24/16 at 2:44 pm to UKWildcats
I've noticed that my garden, lawn, trees are greener and faster growing. Fertilizer in the sky!
Posted on 5/24/16 at 2:51 pm to Kentucker
So....the environmental crisis is actually making our earth greener. You can't make this stuff up!
And I do agree the China and India need to cut their pollution problem down. They seem to be the main source of the extra pollution. The rest of the world is actually doing trees and plants a favor!
And I do agree the China and India need to cut their pollution problem down. They seem to be the main source of the extra pollution. The rest of the world is actually doing trees and plants a favor!
Posted on 5/24/16 at 3:09 pm to tider04
Yes, but there's a point of no return with this kind of pollution. If we don't get China and India to do something about their pollution soon, and the CO2 ppm keeps going up, the greenhouse effect won't be reversible.
At 400 ppm, it's higher than in the past 500,000 years. When the Industrial Age began it stood at 280 ppm.
If China and India would act to reduce their pollution, this could be gotten under control by the end of the century. If not then the very green world we have now will begin to turn brown from the heat.
At 400 ppm, it's higher than in the past 500,000 years. When the Industrial Age began it stood at 280 ppm.
If China and India would act to reduce their pollution, this could be gotten under control by the end of the century. If not then the very green world we have now will begin to turn brown from the heat.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 3:14 pm to Kentucker
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Yes, but there's a point of no return with this kind of pollution. If we don't get China and India to do something about their pollution soon, and the CO2 ppm keeps going up, the greenhouse effect won't be reversible.
Intersting theory. How do they know it won't be reversible? Science is proven theory, something that is testable and reproducible. How many times in history or in other universes have we seen this become irreversible? Sounds like alarmism to me more than fact. Not to diminish the importance of taking care of our world, I just don't like the dishonestly that seems to come along with agendas many times.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 3:26 pm to tider04
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How do they know it won't be reversible?
Well, reversible is a relative term in this context. The earth will probably be able to wash the CO2 out of the air as it did 500,000 years ago, it's true.
However, for us the word reversible has to do with the earth's ability to wash carbon dioxide out before the greenhouse effect kills us off.
Can we help the earth reduce CO2 before things get too hot for us? That's what we have to decide.
The earth would return to its pleasant climate but we wouldn't be here to enjoy it.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 3:31 pm to Kentucker
You know some old country boys in a climate controlled bunker somewhere would keep a commune of humans alive until the earth was livable again.
This is a serious question from someone who clearly has a different worldview than you, and yet cares about the environment. Isn't it true that since we've kept records on global temps (a little over 100 years now, from my research) that the earth has warmed roughly 1 degree in that 100+ year span? How can we be so sure that isn't part of the normal heating/cooling cycle of the earth that has gone on since the beginning of time as we know it? Again, serious question. What if our earth is way better at processing this pollution than we give it credit for given the marginal heat increase on over a century?
This is a serious question from someone who clearly has a different worldview than you, and yet cares about the environment. Isn't it true that since we've kept records on global temps (a little over 100 years now, from my research) that the earth has warmed roughly 1 degree in that 100+ year span? How can we be so sure that isn't part of the normal heating/cooling cycle of the earth that has gone on since the beginning of time as we know it? Again, serious question. What if our earth is way better at processing this pollution than we give it credit for given the marginal heat increase on over a century?
Posted on 5/24/16 at 4:09 pm to tider04
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Isn't it true that since we've kept records on global temps (a little over 100 years now, from my research) that the earth has warmed roughly 1 degree in that 100+ year span?
The earth has warmed by 1.5°C (2.5°F) since the Industrial Revolution. At 450 ppm of CO2, it will rise another 2°C (3.6°F).
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How can we be so sure that isn't part of the normal heating/cooling cycle of the earth that has gone on since the beginning of time as we know it?
Of course the earth is warming naturally. We've been warming since the end of the last ice age 11,000 years ago.
The problem with global warming now is its speed. Human effects are causing a rapid increase.
A 6°F change in less than 200 years may prove to be calamitous to flora and fauna as they exist now, including us. That is not enough time for natural adaptation.
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What if our earth is way better at processing this pollution than we give it credit for given the marginal heat increase on over a century?
The earth is great at cleansing itself, given time. Humans, however, are changing the environment far faster than the earth can keep up.
Our population continues to increase and our demand for resources grows with it. Deforestation, which the earth uses to cleanse the air, is rampant while, at the same time, pollutants are being pumped into the atmosphere at an ever-increasing rate. Again, China and India are the main culprits.
So, it isn't just that we're polluting the earth and denuding it at the same time; we're polluting faster than earth can cleanse itself. We need to do something to help the earth before things get out of hand.
The earth will go on. That's guaranteed. Us? There's no similar guarantee.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 4:39 pm to Kentucker
Is this why I'm short of breath and my chest hurts for the past week?
Posted on 5/24/16 at 4:42 pm to deltaland
No, that's pollen. My sinuses, ears and chest all hurt at this time of year.
Plants have to have sex, too, I guess.
Plants have to have sex, too, I guess.
Posted on 5/24/16 at 6:38 pm to Kentucker
Where did you get the temp increase stats? I'll have to look my source back up because it's been a year or two, but I remember thinking it was solid and was about half what you quoted.
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