Re: GOV. WANTS EMISSIONS TERMINATED

 
It also raises the question: Is there too much CO2 being produced, or
is the problem result from an excess reduction in forestation and
algae which absorb the CO2, sequester the carbon in their wood and
leaves, and emit Oxygen.

Harry C.

The entire atmosphere is a product of biological feedback.
Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere follows ocean and land sources, basic
accounting shows that anthropogenic sources are a very small part of the
total. Less than 5 percent of the carbon flux.

  (bw) says...

You are mistaken about the biological feedback part.  Geologic processes
contribute to atmospheric content.  An obvious and noisy contribution is
volcanic eruption, but continental drift also makes a major long term
contribution.  During periods of mountain building, there is plenty of
exposed rock.  Carbonic acid (H2CO3) dissolves the minerals in the
rocks, and the carbon becomes bound in mineral compounds.  The balance
between outgassing and erosion varies by geological epoch.  The
Carboniferous, for instance, was typified by no mountains, shallow seas,
and tropical temperatures clear to the poles.  The coal we are digging
out now was laid down when there was a huge surplus of CO2 in the
atmosphere.  

Biological processes don't vary that much, and the amount of CO2 in the
atmosphere has very little effect on biological uptake.  There also
seems to be a positive feedback effect, in that warmer water can
dissolve less CO2, so the oceans will quit absorbing, or even start to
outgas.  If arctic permafrost melts, there are millions of years of
methane stored in the permafrost that will end up in the atmosphere, and
methane is a more powerful greenhouse gas than CO2.  We certainly seem
headed for tropical temperatures clear to the poles, just like the
Carboniferous.

Unfortunately, the population explosion makes it impossible for us to
meaningfully reduce our CO2 emissions.  When people started planning the
Kyoto conference, there were 5.5 billion people on the planet.  Now
there are 6.7 billion people.  Thirty years from now there will be over
9 billion people, all wanting food, heat, light and transportation.  The
process is not sustainable.  I don't see a way to avoid a collapse of
industrial civilization and the speedy death of a big percentage of the
human race.  I really feel sorry for the kids being born today, but hey,
that's the way it goes sometimes.  

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