Trees Absorbing Less CO2 As World Warms/That means more in the ATMOSPHERE

[RestoreGore]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/jan/03/climatechange.carbonemissions

The ability of forests to soak up man-made carbon dioxide is weakening, according to an analysis of two decades of data from more than 30 sites in the frozen north.

The finding published today is crucial, because it means that more of the CO2 we release will end up affecting the climate in the atmosphere rather than being safely locked away in trees or soil.

The results may partly explain recent studies suggesting that the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing faster than expected. If higher temperatures mean less carbon is soaked up by plants and microbes, global warming will accelerate.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which shared the Nobel peace prize with Al Gore, has concluded that humanity has eight years left to prevent the worst effects of global warming.

Carbon uptake by land and sea is crucial to predictions about future warming. "We are currently getting a 50% discount on the climatic impact of our fossil fuel emissions," the climate scientist John Miller of the University of Colorado wrote in a commentary on the research in the journal Nature - meaning that half of what we put out is sucked up by the oceans and ecosystems on land.

"Unfortunately, we have no guarantee that the 50% discount will continue, and if it disappears we will feel the full climatic brunt of our unrelenting emission of CO2 from fossil fuels."

end of excerpt.

~~~~~
Yet we released 70 million tons of it into the atmosphere today, and will do the same tomorrow, the day after that, the day after that, and so on... Until when? Until the effects of this are so pronounced it will be too late to stop it? Bali did nothing for us in giving us the roadmap we need NOW... and to be honest, I cannot for the life of me understand that even after all of the work Al Gore and the IPCC has done and continues to do, we sit here. I surely hope 2008 will be the year of solutions as 2007 was the year of awakening. Otherwise, 2009 and beyond may not be much to look forward to.

[TZ]

1. great, just great

Meanwhile we raze the rainforest and other old growth forests at increasing rates....:banghead:
Is it just me, or does nobody seem to care about cutting the rainforests down anymore?

[RestoreGore]

2. I am beginning to wonder if the human race has a deathwish

We sure are good at screwing it up for ourselves.

[Teaser]

4. We're not gonna be eliminated

just chastened hard. Well destroy every other living thing on this planet before we allow ourselves to go extinct.

That said, that kind of world isn't any place worth living in.

[Harper_is_Bush]

3. Seems like bad news, but as they say near the end the the full effect of shifting growing areas

is yet to be fully understood.

Tundra will become forested in some areas, for example.

All in all, we need to get busy. I'm concerned that Presidential candidates, even on the Dem side, are treating the economy and immigration as more important issues. Leadership involves telling the people what's really important, not just groveling to what the polls tell you the people think is important.

[RestoreGore]

6. Question is, will forested areas be enough to pick up the slack?

Our oceans have already exhausted their ability to do that thanks to our inability as a whole to understand the consequnces of our actions. Won't we just cut down the forested areas for money? After all that is so much more important than having a planet to some.

[mac2]

14. Only 10% of the forest lands are left

The foreign lumber companies rape our national forests with little concern. Bush sells them it cheap and uses our tax dollars to build roads so they can truck them out. If not the forests burns by arson and then they get the lumber anyway.

Forest burning has increased mainly from arson not drought.

We don't have enough forests to convert the CO2 right now. We have to plant more trees and protect our forests. We have satellites which could do that. We need them for this job not looking for "terrorists" who don't exist.

In England you have to plant a tree for everyone you cut down. That is one law I'm for. The British cut down many of their trees for ships and heat leaving them with few. I noticed in Scotland there were few also. It's not a "renewable resource" if you don't plant and protect what us use. Even lumber companies should be required to do so here in America.

Once we ruin the earth we can't get on a space shuttle to ruin yet another planet. We're here and we have to do what is needed. It might even be good for peace and humanity.

Let's remember this:

"TREES by Joyce Kilmer

I think I shall never see
A poem as lovely as a tree.
A tree whose hungry mouth is press
Against the earth’s sweet flowing breast.
A tree that looks at God all day
And lifts her leafy arms to pray;
A tree that may in summer wear
A nest of robins in her hair;
Upon whose bosoms snow has lain;
Who intimately lives with rain.
Poems are made by fools like me,
But only God can make a tree."

This is from Lou Dobbs fact section:

"U.S. Wildfires

Average acres burned per year

2000-October 21, 2007: 7.1 million
1960-1999 3.5 million

Source: National Interagency Fire Center"

Strange how our country is being distroyed since Bush stole power. Seems to hate us eh? Impeach them.

[RestoreGore]

18. Plant a tree for every one you cut down...

I'm for that law too.

[Wizard777]

5. Marijuana will suck up all the CO2 you can give it and it will reward you with sticky buds.

The greatest evironmental crime ever commited was the outlawing of Marijuana at the advent of the automobile. That's the missing piece of the global warming puzzle.

[RestoreGore]

9. legalizing hemp is absolutely a big part of this

It makes a great biofuel too.

[Wizard777]

12. New slogan: Legalize or Burn Baby Burn! n/t

[KansDem]

7. Also, oceans absorbing less CO2 as well...

Antarctic Oceans Absorbing Less CO2, Experts Say
Kate Ravilious
for National Geographic News

May 17, 2007
The oceans surrounding Antarctica have lost some of their appetite for carbon dioxide, worrying scientists who are banking on the oceans to slow global warming, according to a new study.

They suspect stronger winds over these seas, which include parts of the Indian, Atlantic, and Pacific Oceans, are causing them to absorb less carbon dioxide, which is a greenhouse gas.

What's more, global warming and the ozone hole over the Southern Pole may be driving the fierce winds.

The oceans near Antarctica are thought to have one of the healthiest appetites for greenhouse gases.

--more--
National Geographic

So now we have trees and oceans both absorbing less CO2. Pretty frightening...:scared:

[mac2]

8. Particulates and dissolved

gases aren't good for us either. Here it is 3F in the Midwest and they are burning wood in their fireplaces. Half the warm air from the house and fireplace goes out the chimney. They don't care about the pollution caused from it...inside and outside.

The Lung Association says that much of the pollution comes from wood smoke in the winter (children and old people have trouble breathing) yet no one stops it. Why not? It's a small thing we can do.

All that pollution follows the jet stream from the west to the East where the acid rain (from wood smoke of residents and coal burning plants) is ruining the wildlife and trees.

Senator Durbin there is no such thing as a clean burning coal plant. The trees in Asheville, NC are dying from the Illinois coal plants. Many are huge and old. After the heavy rain falls of a couple years ago they became uprooted because they were diseased in the first place. This is where the Smoky National Park is too.

Also war is vary polluting when you think of all the debris and carbon from explosions going into the air. The oil burning dissolved gas\particulates are probably still circling the earth. They say WWI and WWII burned a hole in the ozone layer. We won't let anyone talk about though.

There should be a ban on all bombs, burning, manufacturing pollution, etc. We could do a lot if we wanted. Politicians aren't pushing it but preventing it. Some leadership we are see from DC.

[slackmaster]

10. That study was done in very cold climates - See link for Harvard study done in MA

Which says the hemlocks in Harvard forest have been measured as as taking more CO2 out of the atmosphere than they take in, and doing so more rapidly over the course of a 17-year study:

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=17332316

[RestoreGore]

13. Good assuming the forest is preserved....

And we don't continue spewing out GHGs at our current pace.

[mac2]

20. Arbor Day Foundation

is a good place to start for planting, educating, etc. about trees. http://www.arborday.org/index.cfm

A friend of mine used to go to the schools with boxes of free trees for Arbor Day. She gave education talks, etc. She died of breast Cancer. I donate to the foundation in her name.

http://www.arborday.org/arborday/arbordaydates.cfm Link to Arbor Day celebration in your state.

[HughMoran]

11. Right-wingers must hate science. Final judgement will be predicted by science

No wonder it pisses off the dead-enders. Scientists are spoiling the end-times as they will be able to predict any catastrophic events before they occur. At least the dead-enders can fight the science until something bad happens. Then, of course, they will give God all the credit :eyes:

[Wizard777]

15. Especially when Ahura Mazda (Wise Lord) becomes Ahuratu (The Judge.)

O8) :spank: O8)

[tabasco]

16. We should have listened to Reagan about all those pollution-causing trees!

Why do the trees hate America?

[mac2]

19. tabasco what about ketchup?

Trees pollute and ketchup is a vegetable. Seems Reagan had brain problems before we knew it or he was just plain corrupt. I go with the latter.

[tabasco]

21. Saint Ronnie said ketchup is a vegetable for our school children so who are we to argue??

If the children don't like their ketchup vegetables - why do they hate America??

[RestoreGore]

17. Another link on this

http://www.terradaily.com/reports/Carbon_Sink_Capacity_In_Northern_Forests_Reduced_By_Global_Warming_999.html