Our Changing Planet
To the Editor:
A letter of Jan. 26 took on the issue of climate change. One starting point to add to that discussion is to emphasize that climate change is a constant of our earth’s history. Over the past geological eras, climate changes have caused massive extinctions and brilliant moments of food prosperity. The central questions being debated today are how rapidly is our climate changing and to what extent is human activity a contributing factor. One answer is experts’ reasoning to name this geological age Anthropocene. That name indicates that human activity is the dominant influence on climate and environment. Significantly, as we are changing our climate, the climate is forcing us to change. Many examples occur, but one is the climate of Europe has changed where and how food is grown, including grapes for wine. Now, we clever people simply grow wine grapes further north, England and even Norway. In Fayette Co., I am being told, a current climate indicator is reduced hay production. Consider the 2023 Texas Agricultural Statistics. In the Rockies, a prominent indicator of climate crisis is pine bark beetles which are thriving.
The author claimed that extinctions are declining. Scientists report, in fact, that the loss of species is rapid, estimated to be between 1,000 and 10,000 times higher than the natural extinction rate. Are there 2 million species around the globe? If so, between 200 and 2,000 extinctions occur every year. I have heard Fayette County citizens say that bees are really struggling. I recall piles of their bodies around water containers in 2011. I wish pine bark beetles would go extinct.
The author asks us to look closely at carbon dioxide and realize that it is not a pollutant. As I recall, CO2 is a combination of carbon and oxygen. We know that oxygen is important for life. So, what about carbon? Vegetation cannot survive without carbon. If the sun is the major source of energy on our planet, then how do we get a balance of carbon and oxygen? National Geographic Education states: “The process is carried out by plants, algae, and some types of bacteria, which capture energy from sunlight to produce oxygen (O2) and chemical energy stored in glucose (a sugar). Herbivores then obtain this energy by eating plants, and carnivores obtain it by eating herbivores.” “During photosynthesis, plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the air and soil. Within the plant cell, the water is oxidized, meaning it loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is reduced, meaning it gains electrons. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air, and stores energy within the glucose molecules.” As I understand it, this system tends to be inherently self-correcting.
The rub occurs if the ecosystem gets thrown out of balance. Hydrocarbons are carbon rich. When they are combusted as fuel, carbon stored for eons is released at abnormal rates. Too much carbon gets into the ecosystem for plants to consume and photosynthesize. NOAA reasons that “by adding more carbon dioxide to the atmosphere, people are supercharging the natural greenhouse effect, causing global temperature to rise.” Humans put tons of carbon into the atmosphere. Thus, we have the Anthropocene.
One way or the other, we will learn whether climate change is occurring at a rate that constitutes a crisis. Actions of all kinds are being taken. Recently, the Texas Comptroller reported: “NOAA estimates that there have been 18 drought events with an economic impact of $1 billion or more in Texas since 1980. Included in its forecast is the current drought Texas has been experiencing since 2021 (although the total cost is not yet known). Year to date, 2022 is the 11th driest year in the past 128 years and is the worst drought since 2011.” And we had another drought in 2023.
Lots of constructive change is being made. Methane is one problem that needs to be solved. Recently, while I was filling my car at Weikels, Shell told me, on its pump video, that it and other companies are composting cow waste and turning it into fuel. One cow can fuel a milk truck for quite a distance. Shell reports: “Shell is constructing a dairy manure to renewable natural gas (RNG) facility to be co-located at the Bettencourt Dairies in Wendell, Idaho. Once operational Shell Downstream Bovarius is expected to produce approximately 400,000 MMBtu a year of negative carbon intensity RNG using cow manure from the dairy.” Two problems solved. It used to be that when travelers got close to the stock yards and massive dairies in the Panhandle (and other parts of the state), they could smell them before they could see them. ”RNG, or biomethane, is a pipeline-quality gas that is fully interchangeable with conventional natural gas and thus can be used in natural gas vehicles. The use of RNG in the form of compressed natural gas (RCNG) can reduce CO2 emissions from around 50 percent to 100 percent compared to fossil fuels. Encouraged by government policies, demand for RNG is increasing in transport sectors such as road and marine.”
So, we humans have a big problem, allegedly of our own making. But God gave us the intellect to achieve the “dominion” we were given over our planet. Do we have the will?
Bob Heath Carmine