Think back to 100 million years ago. It is the dawn of the Devonian period and plants are unfurling their leaves and settling in for a new and lengthy existence on land.
The vascular plants, which have tissues that allow them to take up water and disperse it throughout their “bodies”, have declared their independence from their aqueous brethren and are ready to brave the new world. Cut off from their ancestors, the vascular plants have to develop a cuticle layer to keep moist and, subsequently, have to evolve stomata, small pores that allow for the intake of carbon dioxide and the outtake of oxygen, to take in carbon dioxide. For many years, plants reigned on the planet, keeping Earth’s ecosystem at bay by taking in carbon dioxide and emitting oxygen. Even with the addition of new life like the animals that were beginning to populate the Earth, Kingdom Plantae was on top of its game, regulating away. The Earth, for the most part, witnessed a time of great peace and balance.
This perpetual flux of increasing and decreasing CO2 in our atmosphere has occurred since the first plant stepped onto land. Everything, from volcanoes, to dying organisms, to humans, releases CO2.
Song Gao, associate professor in the Division of Math, Science, and Technology at the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences, said that the flux in temperature today is deviating from its natural course.
“Scientists have been able to see the natural cycle of temperature rise and fall but that doesn’t explain the current temperature increase because the current temperature rises top the rises of the regular [natural] temperature,” Gao said.
For millennia, Earth was able to regulate the amount of CO2 in its atmosphere through biological processes like photosynthesis, thanks to kingdom Plantae. The plants were able to remove the CO2 at a faster rate than it could be produced, thus keeping our atmosphere at equilibrium. But everything changed when humans discovered fossil fuels and began burning it.
Flash forward to the 19th century, the beginnings of the Industrial Revolution and a great and terrible start to a century. While the revolution produced great technological advancements like the steam engine, which gave birth to the highly efficient train and steamboat, many scientists believe this era was the beginning of an environmental decline.
Paul Arena, assistant professor in the Division of Math, Science, and Technology said, “We’ve had pretty reliable data since the 60s showing increasing CO2 levels and what we are seeing is dramatic increases, really in the last 100 years, due to the Industrial Revolution. We are seeing an increase of CO2 at a rate higher than has ever been seen.”
Gao said, “There are plenty of measurements showing the steady increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. It has climbed up, starting from the mid-1800s, which, if you recall in history, was the beginning of the Industrial Revolution.”
The increase in the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere affects not only the climate but also the temperature changes that could lead to a perpetual slippery slope of strange weather patterns on a devastating and global scale if we don’t act now.
Arena said, “Recently with Hurricane Sandy and the way that it impacted the northeast, the huge amount of decimation that occurred, there was really a wakeup call like ‘Hey, something must be going on.’”
CO2 is an obstinate molecule. Once it gets comfortable inside Earth’s atmosphere, it’s in for the long haul and it takes a while to get rid of. According to Arena, even if we stop emitting CO2 this instant, the impact wouldn’t be seen for years to come. Although the effects wouldn’t be seen immediately, experts say we should still take steps to reduce our CO2 emissions as the smallest of steps can make large impacts in the future.
“It takes a concerted effort and it takes an international effort ,which is often very difficult to do, particularly when the world leaders are also the most industrialized nations and they are the ones pumping the most CO2 and are not committed to reducing their production of it,” said Arena.
Yet, there are some steps all of us can take to reduce carbon emissions in our atmosphere and possibly secure our planet’s future. There are also some really unique methods that other countries are employing. For example, in Finland, household appliances that require heating water are connected to the local geysers, which serve as quick and efficient heat sources. In addition, biofuels are being extracted from living plants such as from corn, as opposed to fossil fuels, which come from the decomposition of plants and animals over millions of years.
Gao said, “Certain countries like Germany and China are beginning to use solar panels as a source of energy as well and Brazil is beginning to use Biofuels due to its abundant forestry. Even if the government hasn’t come up with any collective measures, individuals can make small but concrete contributions when it comes to lowering CO2.”
Arena teaches a freshman course called “Living Sustainably: An Examination of our Daily Habits and our Environmental Impacts,” in which students keep track of their energy usage and learn ways they can reduce their CO2 footprint. In this class, students discuss how many of the things we rely on — from cars and other forms of transport to farming and agricultural machinery — use fossil fuels. CO2 is used when food is packaged for distribution at the grocery store. Arena said that even the fertilizer used on our crops is fossil-fuel based.
There are some simple ways that individuals can help protect the environment. For example, even though you may think you are turning off the lights or shutting off your computer, the plugs are still in the socket and, therefore, are still using energy. Arena calls this phenomenon “vampire wattage” and suggests plugging all of your electronics into a power strip so that they turn off completely when the plugs are not in use.
Yet, the biggest emitters of CO2 are much larger than plugs: cars.
Gao said, “Major energy consumption comes from driving cars so doing more walking, cycling, and carpooling effectively cuts down on CO2 needs.”
Purchasing food from local farms and markets, going to the store to purchase items instead of using the Internet, and unplugging chargers when they are not in use are other ways individuals can reduce their CO2 emissions.
Although it will take hundreds of years to get Earth back on track, a collective effort by all countries, starting with our own, can help to remedy this imbalance. It will require sacrifice and may be difficult in the beginning, but it will benefit the entire world on an environmental level and it will give the next generation a chance to continue to fix the problems placed on Earth by its predecessors and change it for the better.
