Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide Annual Cycle Visualization from NASA

We have the science to understand and deal with global warming, we just don't have the willpower.

The NASA video in this link from Climate Central is truly amazing...and scary. Be sure to note the CO2 scaling in the key. The effect of vegetative growth on CO2 concentrations is also impressive, and highlights two other key avenues to reduced CO2....(1) stop cutting down forests to raise beef, and (2) promote reforestation and grassland restoration.

Earth and Its Climate in 2031 (Osher class title)

Following is the agenda for the next 4 classes of this Osher Lifelong Learning Course at the University of Delaware in Lewes, DE. The overall question to be addressed: "What will the Earth be like in 2031 in regard to the following subjects?"

October 24 - Global weather changes, and the effect on agriculture, potable water and feeding a growing world.

October 31 - Geographic population shifts and climate refugees.

November 7 - Wildlife and vegetation changes, plus the role of forests.

November 14 - Tipping points, what are the most troublesome ones, and how likely are they to occur?

The Climate Significence of Forests

Trees absorb a great deal of atmospheric CO2 as they grow, but they also release a great deal when fallen leaves and dead trees decay. The net balance has been difficult to determine, but recently more accurate measurements show that the net CO2 absorption of all forests world wide is equal to approximately one quarter of all CO2 emitted by man. Thus forests are presently playing a major role in slowing the rise of atmospheric CO2.

One of the biggest concerns relative to forests is that they are coming under increasing stress due to a warmer and drier climate. In the southwest, this has been evident as major forests fires this past summer. In the Rockies and Canada pine bark beetles, no longer killed back by cold winters, have been devasting large tracks of evergreen forests. In the Amazon region, there have been two major droughts with many large trees dying.

The linked article by Justin Gillis in the NY Times provides an excellent detailed review of the role of forests, and the perils they face. On the bright side, Eastern US forests are doing very well, and even growing more rapidly than they used to due higher CO2 levels and longer growing seasons.