More CO2 might be good for us in the long run

[Peter Lemkin]

http://wattsupwiththat.com/2015/10/15/gr...full-text/

An interesting prespective on historic CO2 levels and temperatures, the connection to plant life and resulting animal/human life and where the most carbon is actually stored (hint: it is not in the atmosphere).

I am no expert, but it seems to make sense and I would be interested in hearing constructive criticism.

Some qoutes:

The Devonian Period beginning 400 million years ago marked the culmination of the invasion of life onto the land. Plants evolved to produce lignin, which in combination with cellulose, created wood which in turn for the first time allowed plants to grow tall, in competition with each other for sunlight. As vast forests spread across the land living biomass increased by orders of magnitude, pulling down carbon as CO2 from the atmosphere to make wood. Lignin is very difficult to break down and no decomposer species possessed the enzymes to digest it. Trees died atop one another until they were 100 metres or more in depth. This was the making of the great coal beds around the world as this huge store of sequestered carbon continued to build for 90 million years. Then, fortunately for the future of life, white rot fungi evolved to produce the enzymes that can digest lignin and coincident with that the coal-making era came to an end.
There was no guarantee that fungi or any other decomposer species would develop the complex of enzymes required to digest lignin. If they had not, CO2, which had already been drawn down for the first time in Earth's history to levels similar to todays, would have continued to decline as trees continued to grow and die. That is until CO2 approached the threshold of 150 ppm below which plants begin first to starve, then stop growing altogether, and then die. Not just woody plants but all plants. This would bring about the extinction of most, if not all, terrestrial species, as animals, insects, and other invertebrates starved for lack of food. And that would be that. The human species would never have existed. This was only the first time that there was a distinct possibility that life would come close to extinguishing itself, due to a shortage of CO2, which is essential for life on Earth.

The past 150 million years has seen a steady drawing down of CO2 from the atmosphere. There are many components to this but what matters is the net effect, a removal on average of 37,000 tons of carbon from the atmosphere every year for 150 million years. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere was reduced by about 90% during this period. This means that volcanic emissions of CO2 have been outweighed by the loss of carbon to calcium carbonate sediments on a multi-million year basis.If this trend continues CO2 will inevitably fall to levels that threaten the survival of plants, which require a minimum of 150 ppm to survive. If plants die all the animals, insects, and other invertebrates that depend on plants for their survival will also die.
How long will it be at the present level of CO2 depletion until most or all of life on Earth is threatened with extinction by lack of CO2 in the atmosphere?

Sorry, this is not a thought experiment way out of the mess we are in with anthropogenic climate change and warming. These cycles of Carbon did happen in the past, but over huge periods of time so life could adapt. Even then, most species died off to be replaced by others who could manage under the changed climatic conditions. More Carbon in the atmosphere now will do NOTHING but HARM. A few plants will have more CO2 and grow a bit faster, but we are changing the climate system in a few decades in a manner that normally takes millions of years. The oceans are acidifying from the CO2 producing carbonic acid in the oceans and other bodies of water; there is more energy in the climate system leading to stronger everything - storms, tornadoes, rains, droughts, heat waves, desertification. Mostly, the Earth is warming, the glaciers and polar ice are melting, the seas are rising and it is getting too hot for the current lifeforms in the locations they are or were [they are migrating where they can]. We have fucked up the total system and there are no 'up' sides to it. None. Half of all large life forms in the oceans are dead. About 70% of the coral; we have cut down 50% of the tropical rain forest and one can go on and on and on. We simply must stop burning fossil fuels of all types and pumping all this Carbon into the atmosphere in such a short period of time. We have ALREADY put in enough carbon and other greenhouse gases to warm the Earth OVER 2 degrees C - that is a formula for total megadeath of most lifeforms, including humans...and more Carbon coming will likely put us at 4-6 C increase - leading to a mass extinction event on this Planet - all caused by humans and human stupidity. Everything in the Gian ecological system is in a delicate balance and WE [humans] are suddenly changing the balance - putting the system totally out of balance and into a collapse and MAJOR and DRASTICALLY FAST change. This will cause all kinds of havoc and extinction and humans will NOT be spared. Of course, the poor will suffer the most and the soonest, but all will soon be effected negatively. The low islands in the oceans will soon be gone, then the coastlines, on which a vast majority of humanity lives or relies. Environmental and climate scientists are almost unanimous on this - we are in peril and only we can stop the imminent danger by changing our economic systems, our greed, our selfishness in thinking we are some god-given rulers of the Earth and all other living things are here for our use and abuse, our use of fossil fuels, our pumping toxic chemicals into the ecosphere, our overpopulation which is not supportable, our being totally out of balance with Nature. If not, expect to see and have your children see lots of horror, extinction and death - megadeath in the next FEW decades, and already begun.

If anyone wants the REAL science [not that paid for by the fossil fuel and energy industries] you can download excellent reports here http://www.ipcc.ch/publications_and_data...orts.shtml These are done by an international group of environmental and climate scientists. The reports are detailed and authoritative and you can bank on the conclusions.