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> So if you think about it, our biosphere is pretty irrelevant when it comes to removing carbon from atmosphere. Didn't understand your point here initially bu
by danparsonson 5y ago
> So if you think about it, our biosphere is pretty irrelevant when it comes to removing carbon from atmosphere.
Didn't understand your point here initially but I think what you mean is - we've significantly outpaced the biosphere's ability to remove carbon from the atmosphere. It's not irrelevant, it's overloaded.
- lmilcin 5y agoOkay, so it would be actually more precise if I said "It is irrelevant when it comes to removing CO2 caused by humanity". It is not overloaded. Trees are not concerned by the extra CO2 in atmosphere. Biosphere is a cycle, which means that it has net zero effect on the amount of CO2 in atmosphere. Any CO2 removed from atmosphere is at the same time counteracted somewhere else. Maybe it is burning or rotting or maybe it has been eaten by a breathing and farting camel. More biomass just means there is more CO2 taken out as well as supplied in. The only way it can have non-zero effect on the atmosphere is if we are interacting with what is called sequestered carbon. Humanity is taking out carbon out of long term storage that has been sequestered for millions of years, but there exists no natural process that would counteract it efficiently. There only exists a number of buffers -- an atmosphere as well as oceans.