Carbon Dioxide and Climate – Friend or Foe?

American Thinker.com ^ | April 18, 2022 | Brian C. Joondeph

[Kaslin]

In global warming circles, carbon dioxide is the bogey man, the cause of all evils. CO2 is another Vladimir Putin, blamed for rising gasoline prices and President Biden’s 8.5 percent inflation. Just as Putin isn’t responsible for consumer prices, which began rising shortly after Biden took office, CO2 may not be the bogey man hiding under the beds of Greta Thunberg and Al Gore, ready to pop out and consume the world.

Is CO2 really the bogey man? Is it a friend or foe of planet Earth? The answer may surprise you.

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CO2 is one of several greenhouse gasses. Water vapor however is the largest contributor to the Earth’s greenhouse effect. CO2 is also plant food. Think back to high school biology and photosynthesis. Water, CO2, and sunlight combine to produce carbohydrate and oxygen, the carbohydrate being the plant food.

CO2 is a relatively small percentage of air, 0.035% to be exact, less than one half of one percent of the air around us. CO2 levels can vary significantly, from less than 400 parts per million outdoors to over 1000 inside a crowded room. Submarine crews tolerate CO2 levels of up to 8000 parts per million without adverse health effects.

Although a minor component of our atmosphere, CO2 is essential for plant growth. A 100 percent increase in CO2 levels increases plant growth from 22-41 percent, depending on plant type. Aside from CO2, temperature also affects plant growth. Warmer temperatures translate to higher growth rates, assuming the other photosynthesis ingredients remain in place.

[rktman]

Well, that just proves it is an ever increasing threat. /S

[Tymesup]

If there is more CO2 in the atmosphere, would that promote plant growth? If the planet warms up because of more CO2 in the atmosphere, would that promote plant growth?

If there is more plant growth, would plants use more CO2?

Would the atmosphere reach an equilibrium between the extra CO2 humans create and the extra CO2 the plants use?

[palmer]

Would the atmosphere reach an equilibrium between the extra CO2 humans create and the extra CO2 the plants use?

No doubt that will happen. My calculation a few years ago was that we just had to reduce CO2 creation by about 50% to get to equilibrium. We will do that with tech that is inevitable. The other thing to think about is the lifecycle of the plants. The more that are turned into permanent carbon the better. That can done mainly by harvesting plants and creating permanent objects.

Finally we need to seed the right plants. There are plants that are more suitable for extracting and capturing large amounts of CO2 including (and perhaps especially) algae in the ocean that will capture carbon and sink to the bottom.