Posted on 01/17/2006 11:40:11 AM PST by f zero
Scientists in Germany have discovered that ordinary plants produce significant amounts of methane, a powerful greenhouse gas which helps trap the sun's energy in the atmosphere.
The findings, reported in the journal Nature, have been described as "startling", and may force a rethink of the role played by forests in holding back the pace of global warming.
And the BBC News Website has learned that the research, based on observations in the laboratory, appears to be corroborated by unpublished observations of methane levels in the Brazilian Amazon.
Until now, it had been thought that natural sources of methane were mainly limited to environments where bacteria acted on vegetation in conditions of low oxygen levels, such as in swamps and rice paddies.
To their amazement, the scientists found that all the textbooks written on the biochemistry of plants had apparently overlooked the fact that methane is produced by a range of plants even when there is plenty of oxygen.
The amount of the gas produced increased when the air was warmer, and when there was more sunlight. The paper estimates that this unexplained phenomenon could account for 10-30% of the world's methane emissions.
It is tempting to conclude from this new study that in some way we have been conned into thinking that trees were great for the planet when it turns out they might be helping to cause global warming.
In fact, of course, trees are neither good nor bad. They are just there, and if they are producing methane now they always have been in natural conditions.
The study highlights, however, the extreme complexity of the relationship between the biological processes of the Earth and the chemistry of our atmosphere - and how much there is yet to discover.
(Excerpt) Read more at news.bbc.co.uk ...
LOL! Not only do scientists put on their pants one leg at a time, like the rest of us mere humans, but they seem to get caught occasionally with no pants at all!
We must cut down the rain forest at our earliest possible convenience, or we are DOOMED!!!!!!!.....
And this time they caught their weiners in the fly. (Ouch!)
The rain forest is a quagmire... we must withdraw now!
Herbicides. We need lots of herbicides. We can still save the planet, but we'll have to act fast!
The new PhD candidates can start their research on "Agent Orange--To save the earth!"
Bookmark this thread.
Well, yeah. I mean, beans ARE plants... duh...
But but Dan Rather told me it was cow farts.
Wasn't by chance a Taco Bell sack under said tree was there? They have seemingly overlooked the obvious on at least one occasion.
Trees fart?
..do cows eat beans?
Plants fart? Who knew?
I was up late the other night listening to NPR (sorry, but there was no talk in the wee hours of the morning where I live, and it’s good to know your enemy right?) I heard nothing about it on the MSN the next day. This story just does not fit the mold, so it got no press. Could not find any mention here until now, unless my search skills are lacking.
Had a chemist professor state in the early 90s that plants and animals produce tons more gas than humans could ever produce.
Does anyone else remember the great Ronald Reagan being castigated by the leftist "scientists" and the msm for suggesting that trees were a major contributor to pollution? He was far ahead of his time in so many ways, but his enemies still will not admit it.
I am not really sure the "re" in this sentence is really necessary!
LOL!
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