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 Need a new email address that people can remember Check out the new EudoraMail at http://www.eudoramail.com
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