When the creatures and plants that trapped all this contentious carbon dioxide were formed in the Carboniferous period man wasn’t even a twinkle in the eye of evolution.
From 65 million years ago these plants and animals were extracting carbon dioxide from the Earth’s atmosphere and were gradually causing massive climate change. Curiously, also around 65 million years ago about half of all the living species on the planet were eradicated. The reason and process of this is the subject of debate, but the agreed fact is that there was a massive change in the ecology of the planet.
All tales should have a happy ending and as a result of environmental change more species were able to flourish, and just a couple of million years ago the climate, atmosphere and natural environment could sustain the human species. The planet and the range of species it supports adjusted, as in earlier eras, to suit the prevailing climatic circumstances. But, this is not the end of the tale.
As Mankind reached what some could see as the pinnacle of our evolution, we have spent the last 250 years or so re-releasing a lot of that stored carbon dioxide as a result of the Industrial Revolution. As the atmosphere changes its composition Nature will again adjust to the prevailing conditions and, in all honesty, doesn’t really care what happens to Mankind. As individuals and as a species, do we care?
We already have our dinosaurs.
Have you ever heard anyone say, ‘Whatever I do is a drop in the ocean, when my next door neighbour puts out their recycling box then maybe I’ll feel it’s worth the effort?’
Maybe you’ve even said it yourself. Doing nothing is how fossils are formed.
We can not only maintain the atmosphere but also maintain our lifestyles with just a few changes in the way we do things. What stops these changes taking place? There are sadly some people, vocal people, who object to the idea of wind farms, hydroelectric plants, eating strawberries only in the summer, re-using plastic bags, catching buses, etc. All superficial objections based on aesthetics and taste rather than logic and species survival. I would really like to believe that the vast majority of people are not superficial and are capable of putting their personal tastes second and the needs of Humanity first.
Please prove me right.
