{"id":258329,"date":"2023-05-20T19:52:56","date_gmt":"2023-05-20T17:52:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258329"},"modified":"2023-05-20T19:52:59","modified_gmt":"2023-05-20T17:52:59","slug":"more-co2-good-less-co2-bad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=258329","title":{"rendered":"More CO2 Good, Less CO2\u00a0Bad"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n

From Science Matters<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

By\u00a0Ron Clutz<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Gregory Wrightstone explains at CO2 Coalition More Carbon Dioxide Is Good, Less Is Bad.<\/a> <\/strong> Excerpts in italics with my bolds and added images.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

People should be celebrating, not demonizing,<\/strong>\u00a0modern increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide\u00a0(CO2).<\/strong>\u00a0We cannot overstate the importance of the gas. Without it, life doesn\u2019t exist.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

First, a bit of history: During each of the last four glacial advances, CO2\u2019s concentration fell below 190 parts per million (ppm), less than 50 percent of our current concentration of 420 ppm.<\/strong> When glaciers began receding about 14,000 years ago<\/strong> \u2013 a blink in geological time \u2013 CO2 levels fell to 182 ppm<\/strong>, a concentration thought to be the lowest in Earth\u2019s history.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Line of Death<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Why is this alarming? Because below 150 ppm, most terrestrial plant life dies. Without plants, there are no animals.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In other words, the Earth came within 30 ppm in CO2\u2019s atmospheric concentration of witnessing the extinction of most land-based plants and all higher terrestrial life-forms<\/strong> \u2013 nearly a true climate apocalypse. Before industrialization began adding CO2 to the atmosphere, there was no telling whether the critical 150-ppm threshold wouldn\u2019t be reached during the next glacial period.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Contrary to the mantra that today\u2019s CO2 concentration is unprecedentedly high, our current geologic period, the Quaternary, has seen the lowest average levels of carbon dioxide<\/strong> since the end of the Pre-Cambrian Period more than 600 million years ago. The average CO2 concentration throughout Earth\u2019s history was more than 2,600 ppm, nearly seven times current levels.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Beneficial CO2 Increases<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

CO2 increased from 280 ppm in 1750 to 420 ppm today<\/strong>, most of it after World War II as industrial activity accelerated. The higher concentration has been\u00a0beneficial<\/strong>\u00a0because of the gas\u2019s role\u00a0as a plant food in increasing photosynthesis.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Its benefits include:<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Faster plant growth with less water and larger crop yields.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Expansion of forests and grasslands.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Less erosion of topsoil because of more plant growth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u2014 Increases in plants\u2019 natural insect repellents.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A summary of 270 laboratory\u00a0studies covering 83 food crops<\/strong>\u00a0showed that\u00a0increasing CO2 concentrations<\/strong>\u00a0by 300 ppm\u00a0boosts plant growth by an average of 46 percent<\/strong>. Conversely, many studies show adverse effects of low-CO2 environments.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

For instance, one indicated that, compared to today, plant growth was eight percent less in the period before the Industrial Revolution, with a low concentration of 280 ppm CO2.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, attempts to reduce CO2 concentrations are bad for plants, animals and humankind.<\/mark><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Data reported in a recent paper by Dr. Indur Goklany, and published by the CO2 Coalition, indicates that up to 50 percent of\u00a0Earth\u2019s vegetated areas became greener<\/strong>\u00a0between 1982-2011.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Researchers attribute 70 percent of the greening to CO2 fertilization from of fossil fuel emissions. (Another nine percent is attributed to fertilizers derived from fossil fuels.)<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Goklany also reported that the beneficial fertilization effect of CO2 \u2013 along with the use of hydrocarbon-dependent machinery, pesticides and fertilizers \u2013 have\u00a0saved at least 20 percent of land area from being converted to agricultural purposes<\/strong>\u00a0\u2013 an area 25 percent larger than North America.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The amazing increase in agricultural productivity<\/strong>, partly the result of more CO2, has allowed the planet to feed eight billion people, compared to the fewer than 800,000 inhabitants living a short 300 years ago.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

More CO2 in the air means\u00a0more moisture in the soil<\/strong>. The major cause of water loss in plants is attributable to transpiration, in which the stomata, or pores, on the undersides of the leaves open to absorb CO2 and expel oxygen and water vapor.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n

\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

With more CO2, the stomata are open for shorter periods, the leaves lose less water, and more moisture remains in the soil. The associated increase in soil moisture has been linked to global decreases in wildfires, droughts and heat waves.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Exaggeration of CO2\u2019s Warming Effect<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

Alarm over global warming stems from exaggerations of CO2\u2019s potential to retain heat that otherwise would radiate to outer space. As with water vapor, methane and nitrous oxide, CO2 retains heat in the atmosphere by how it reacts to infrared portions of the electromagnetic spectrum.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

However, the gas has saturated to a large extent<\/strong> within the infrared range, leaving relatively little potential for increased warming.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Both sides of the climate debate agree that the warming effect<\/strong> of each molecule of CO2 decreases significantly (logarithmically) as the concentration increases.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is one reason why there was no runaway greenhouse warming when CO2 concentrations approached 20 times that of today. This inconvenient fact, despite its importance, is rarely mentioned because it undermines the theory of a future climate catastrophe<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

A doubling of CO2 from today\u2019s level<\/strong> of 420 ppm \u2013 an increase estimated to take 200 years to attain \u2013 would have an inconsequential effect on global temperature.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pennsylvania\u2019s solar-powered fossil fuels<\/strong><\/em><\/h5>\n\n\n\n

CO2 being liberated today from Pennsylvania coal<\/strong> was removed from the atmosphere by the photosynthesis of trees that fed on sunlight and carbon dioxide and then died<\/strong> to have their remains accumulate in the vast coal swamps of the Carboniferous Period.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pennsylvania Marcellus and Utica shale hydrocarbons<\/strong> being exploited today were also the likely hydrocarbon source of shallower reservoirs producing since the late 1800s.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The source of those hydrocarbons was algae remains that gathered on the bottom of the Ordovician and Devonian seas.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like the coal deposits, the algae<\/strong> used solar-powered photosynthesis and CO2 (the algal blooms were likely fueled by regular dust storms) to remove vast amounts of CO2 from the air and lock it up as carbon-rich organic matter.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The provenance of these hydrocarbons spawns two novel ideas. First<\/strong>, there is a strong case that these are solar-powered fuels.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Second<\/strong>, the sequestering of carbon during the creation of the hydrocarbons lowered atmospheric concentrations of CO2 to sub-optimum levels for plants. Therefore, the combustion of today\u2019s coal and gas is liberating valuable CO2 molecules that are turbocharging plant growth<\/strong>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The plain fact of the matter is that the modest warming of less than one degree Celsius since 1900, combined with increasing CO2, is allowing ecosystems to thrive and humanity to prosper.<\/mark><\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Additional information<\/strong>\u00a0on CO2\u2019s benefits and related topics are available\u00a0at CO2Coalition.org<\/strong>, which includes a number of publications and resources of interest.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Therefore, attempts to reduce CO2 concentrations are bad for plants, animals and humankind.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":121246920,"featured_media":258348,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_coblocks_attr":"","_coblocks_dimensions":"","_coblocks_responsive_height":"","_coblocks_accordion_ie_support":"","_crdt_document":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[1],"tags":[691818076,691819660],"class_list":{"0":"post-258329","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-uncategorized","8":"tag-co2","9":"tag-photosynthesis","11":"fallback-thumbnail"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/climatescience.press\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/0430741-diagramm-das-den-prozess-der-photosynthese-zeigt-kostenlos-vektor.jpg?fit=1564%2C980&ssl=1","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paxLW1-15cB","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":304022,"url":"https:\/\/climatescience.press\/?p=304022","url_meta":{"origin":258329,"position":0},"title":"The CO2 Dilemma – Climate Change Roundtable #99","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"02\/24\/2024","format":false,"excerpt":"On episode 99 of Climate Change Roundtable, The Heartland Institute\u2019s Anthony Watts, H. Sterling Burnett, and Linnea Lueken Examine this issue as well as look at two new reports that have just been released: 1. 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Sources and Sinks, 1959-2023","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"03\/31\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"By choosing the \u201cbest\u201d models and estimates of CO2 fluxes (those which best explain year-to-year changes in atmospheric CO2 content as measured at Mauna Loa, HI) for the period 1959-2023 as provided by the Global Carbon Project, a multiple linear regression of yearly Mauna Loa CO2 changes against those \u201cbest\u201d\u2026","rel":"","context":"In \"carbon dioxide (CO\u2082)\"","block_context":{"text":"carbon dioxide 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history of bad science","author":"uwe.roland.gross","date":"06\/29\/2025","format":false,"excerpt":"A few days ago I published another analysis of mine, called\u00a0pHony Alarmism. 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