Hello Mark,
Global warming isn't the problem, the problem is that the people who are in charge
have a different agenda and priority. Alltough scientists find it rather difficult to
come up with a solid pointer to the fact it is happening (the majority of the research
has a statistical component that leaves interpreters with uncertanties) there are a
lot of small pointers that don't seem to find attention (phenology; movement of
plant, insect, land- and sea animal habitats; insurance-companies are seriously
raising their costs; ...)
I hope I don't come over as one of those pessimistic told you so backseat drivers.
My personal feelings on the event are rather opposite: if global warming is gonna give
us trouble, it's simply because humanity as a species is less smart than it thinks it
is. Darwin must be spinning in his grave :D
We're not in charge, nature is.
thanks for reading,
Frederick
One topic that comes up on the OGD every now and then is the use of
carbon dioxide to speed up orchid growth. This is an interesting article
on carbon dioxide and plant growth. One thing to keep in mind that AJ
Hicks has pointed out in the past is that orchids are survivalist, and
can grow in less then ideal situations when some nutrients are not
available.
Carbon dioxide theory debunked
Many scientists hope the rising concentration of carbon dioxide in the
atmosphere will be offset by greater growth of plants on the Earth's
surface. A study in the journal Science suggests this may be wishful
thinking. Plant matter is made up largely of carbon-based molecules
synthesized when plants capture carbon dioxide from the air during
photosynthesis. The forests, grasslands and phytoplankton of the oceans
are all huge sinks for carbon in the environment. If plants grow faster
or bigger in the presence of more carbon dioxide, theoretically they
could drain off some of the excess carbon entering the atmosphere
through the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities. A
research team led by Bruce Hungate at Northern Arizona University
studied what happened to Galactia elliottii, a vine in the bean family
that grows in coastal Florida, during a seven-year experiment in which
enclosed but roofless plots of land were exposed to elevated
concentrations of carbon dioxide.
To accumulate carbon in the form of biomass, the vines also have to
accumulate -- or /fix/ -- nitrogen, another essential element in
living matter. Hungate and his colleagues used nitrogen fixation as a
yardstick for growth. In the first year of the experiment, the vines
doubled their nitrogen fixation -- clear evidence they were flourishing
in response to the higher carbon dioxide levels. That response fell off
rapidly, however. In the past three years, the elevated carbon dioxide
levels suppressed nitrogen below normal fixation.
Why did this happen?
It turns out the vines were running out of molybdenum, a trace metal
captured from soil that they need for one of their nitrogen-fixing
enzymes. When molybdenum became scarce, the excess carbon dioxide became
unusable.
-- /Washington/ /Post/
The following are quotes from an article on carbon dioxide emissions
credit trading of industries under the Kyoto treaty. It kind of gives
you an idea of the problem with carbon dioxide and global warming. The
US is not a signature to the Kyoto treaty.
As world takes halting steps, some try trading `hot air' to buy time on
climate
By CHARLES J. HANLEY
AP Special Correspondent
If carbon dioxide had a color, if people saw the sky getting darker,
people would have no problem recognizing what's going on, said
climatologist David Pierce of San Diego's Scripps Institution of
Oceanography.
Some scientists and engineers said so much time has been lost that only
carbon sequestration -- technology to capture and store emissions --
can save the climate. One calculated, however, that a Lake Michigan in
liquid CO-2 would have to be hoarded away in the next 100 years.
The full article:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2004/06/05/international1309EDT0538.DTL
Mark Sullivan
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