Global Warming

Speaker from the Heinz Center today a U Maryland- reminded us all about the 350 parts per million of CO2 that can sustainably exist in our atmosphere without catastrophic changes and damages. Also mentioned we are already at 390 and with all the commitments currently in place by various world states we are headed for 700! Turns out lots of the CO2 is going into the water and acidifying it all destroying the calcium carbonate shells of pteropods, the necessary creatures known as the Sea Butterfly which exist at the bottom of the food chain and thus are essential to all other life. Turns out sea life and the rest of us must need to adjust to carbonic acid -yum. The speakers main goal is reforestation, he rejects the geo-engineering solutions which simply replace one giant unknown with the next and its repercussions. Reforestation is a wonderful goal. I wonder how much to distribute focus between re- and de forestation, i wonder if some of the micro-climates in current forests once obliterated can still sustain the same life they once did, or how many places will take a much more energy intensive effort to bring back an ecosystem than simply letting the trees grow back. With water shortages, invasive species, with bugs that live too long with warmer temps and destroy too much, there is still so much more to understand, But perhaps it does start with something simple we all can visualize like defining a place where trees want to grow and planting more. The lecturer mentioned that deforestation is as responsible as all the world's transportaiton for CO2 emmissions, including forest fires. So there are many ways to fight this front, I guess it's time to start my summer garden.