In response to Viv Forbes letter on April 5, yes, the burning of the world’s forests was a major contributor to climate change, as is the burning of fossil fuels now. Please read Tim Flannery’s book ‘We Are The Weather Makers’. His explanations are easy to follow. It is probably available at your local library. If not they will get it for you upon request.
The one thing that resonates in my mind is Tim’s explanation of how humans are effecting this change. Here’s an abbreviated version:
Carbon dioxide is a colourless odourless gas. Trees breathe in carbon dioxide (ie CO2) through their leaves. They grow by breaking up this CO2, storing the carbon “C’ in their structure. They breathe out the oxygen “O2” component. During the earth’s “Carboniferous Period” the trees first began covering the land, and the air and climate slowly became more conducive to our oxygen-dependent existence. Originally the earth’s atmosphere and climate did not support life as we know it.
We know that the ancient trees, along with other organisms that stored carbon, are now buried and form the enormous coal, oil and natural gas deposits. This buried carbon was very effectively separated from the air.
During the industrial revolution between the years 1712 and 1762, coal production in England increased by 6 million tonnes per year. More coal is being burned today than at any time in the past. Burn one tonne of black coal and you create 3.7 tonnes of CO2. In 2002 burning fossil fuels released 21 billion tonnes of CO2 into the atmosphere.
The most powerful greenhouse gas of all is water vapour. As the
concentration of CO2 increases it warms the atmosphere just a little, which allows it to retain more water vapour. This in turn magnifies the original warming. This magnifying action is called positive feedback.
We are being affected now by climate change. Future generations are
relying on us to make informed decisions at the ballot box.
David Norris
Pottsville
