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Can you explain how we could preserve or restore natural environments in a world with ever-increasing CO2 concentrations?

Dumblydorr 6y ago
The top thing we can do to prevent climate change is stop the deforestation of the amazon. Poor people there are logging to make way for farmland, which is sad, we could just ship them money or goods so they leave the biggest carbon sink in the world alone.
- therealdrag0 6y ago
  Also the Boreal Forests I’m a Canada/Russia which hold a lot of carbon in the soil. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/shelley-vinyard/issue-tissue-20 https://www.nrdc.org/experts/shelley-vinyard/issue-tissue-20
sandworm101 6y ago
Stop killing whales. Not kidding. Whale poop is the bedrock of c02 sequestration in the oceans.
blisterpeanuts 6y ago
Ocean algae, or more properly phytoplankton, produce 80% of the world's oxygen.[1] We are experiencing a slight decline in phytoplankton[2], which if it accelerates could become catastrophic for life on Earth. It's not clear why, but some theories exist suggesting that climactic change is resulting in the release of acidic substances sequestered in the oceans. As acidity of the oceans rise, they become less hospitable to phytoplankton. How are humans contributing to the decline of the oceans? Over-fishing, whaling, plastics pollution, acidic rain... these are all directly caused by humans, and they all damage the ecosystem. Plastics are breaking down into microparticles floating in the oceans that cannot be cleaned up, and we are only beginning to understand what and how much damage it may be causing. Studies suggest that plankton eat plastic particles, with deadly results.[3] The second largest producer of oxygen is the Amazon forests and jungles of South America. This vast region is shrinking by thousands of acres a year, as loggers and farmers develop the land. Unfortunately, this is reducing carbon sequestration as well, though farming does counteract that trend to some extent. Also, destruction of the Amazon rain forests is reducing biodiversity, with unknown but likely significant effects on the continent, and on the world. Humans have grown so numerous that we are literally destabilizing the planet, and we need to rein in our excessive industrial processes before we reach a point of no return that will take the planet millions of years to recover from. 1. https://eos.org/research-spotlights/worlds-biggest-oxygen-producers-living-in-swirling-ocean-waters https://eos.org/research-spotlights/worlds-biggest-oxygen-pr... 2. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-shows-oceanic-phytoplankton-declines-in-northern-hemisphere https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-shows-oceani... 3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653518310270 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00456...
- unloco 6y ago
  I agree with you. My question then is, Why would we not want to jump on this NOW, when we know that we are not stopping deforestation and ocean destabilization within the next 10-20 years? We can't guard the ocean or rain forests, yet. Why not put a small amount of money at something we CAN do while we figure out the logistics of protecting things other countries don't want to (or cant help) protect.

Dumblydorr 6y ago

The top thing we can do to prevent climate change is stop the deforestation of the amazon. Poor people there are logging to make way for farmland, which is sad, we could just ship them money or goods so they leave the biggest carbon sink in the world alone.

therealdrag0 6y ago
Also the Boreal Forests I’m a Canada/Russia which hold a lot of carbon in the soil. https://www.nrdc.org/experts/shelley-vinyard/issue-tissue-20 https://www.nrdc.org/experts/shelley-vinyard/issue-tissue-20

sandworm101 6y ago

Stop killing whales. Not kidding. Whale poop is the bedrock of c02 sequestration in the oceans.

blisterpeanuts 6y ago

Ocean algae, or more properly phytoplankton, produce 80% of the world's oxygen.[1] We are experiencing a slight decline in phytoplankton[2], which if it accelerates could become catastrophic for life on Earth. It's not clear why, but some theories exist suggesting that climactic change is resulting in the release of acidic substances sequestered in the oceans. As acidity of the oceans rise, they become less hospitable to phytoplankton. How are humans contributing to the decline of the oceans? Over-fishing, whaling, plastics pollution, acidic rain... these are all directly caused by humans, and they all damage the ecosystem. Plastics are breaking down into microparticles floating in the oceans that cannot be cleaned up, and we are only beginning to understand what and how much damage it may be causing. Studies suggest that plankton eat plastic particles, with deadly results.[3] The second largest producer of oxygen is the Amazon forests and jungles of South America. This vast region is shrinking by thousands of acres a year, as loggers and farmers develop the land. Unfortunately, this is reducing carbon sequestration as well, though farming does counteract that trend to some extent. Also, destruction of the Amazon rain forests is reducing biodiversity, with unknown but likely significant effects on the continent, and on the world. Humans have grown so numerous that we are literally destabilizing the planet, and we need to rein in our excessive industrial processes before we reach a point of no return that will take the planet millions of years to recover from. 1. https://eos.org/research-spotlights/worlds-biggest-oxygen-producers-living-in-swirling-ocean-waters https://eos.org/research-spotlights/worlds-biggest-oxygen-pr... 2. https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-shows-oceanic-phytoplankton-declines-in-northern-hemisphere https://www.nasa.gov/feature/goddard/nasa-study-shows-oceani... 3. https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0045653518310270 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S00456...

unloco 6y ago
I agree with you. My question then is, Why would we not want to jump on this NOW, when we know that we are not stopping deforestation and ocean destabilization within the next 10-20 years? We can't guard the ocean or rain forests, yet. Why not put a small amount of money at something we CAN do while we figure out the logistics of protecting things other countries don't want to (or cant help) protect.