I was watching a documentary by the BBC where scientist measured the amount of Co2 in the atmosphere and compared it to millions of years ago when the earth was an inhospitable hothouse. The CO2 in the atmosphere was 4 times what it is today. Then there were no ice caps at the poles and our seas were stagnant and devoid of oxygen.
These cycles of CO2 increase and decrease are a natural phenomenon and the process takes millions of years. What we are doing is accelerating the process by our burning of fossil fuel and releasing carbon atoms locked away so many million years ago.
Is it all doom and gloom? I believe that there is hope and as human being inhabiting this planet we will learn to manage this carbon cycle. Left to it’s own device the climate will go to extremes however if we are able to manage the release and absorption of carbon in the atmosphere we can in effect manage our own long term climate patterns.
History have shown us that when pushed with our backs to the wall we can and we will find a solution. My generation to our shame have plundered and pillage our environment but the hope is that our children and grandchildren have a different mindset and approach to life. They will be able to manage the environment much better than we could.
Environmental management will be the new frontier from sustainable living to developing technologies in carbon sequestration.
