Old Rocks
Diamond Member
Planet Extinction Newsletter
GLOBAL WARMING SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATED
Let's add the sources of greenhouse gas and see how much we get!
"One of the hardest tasks we face in life is to be the bearer of seriously bad news . I now have to bring the worst of news . that civilisation is in grave danger."
James Lovelock, The Revenge of Gaia.
A number of simply gigantic reserves of greenhouse gasses that nature has stored for our benefit are now beginning to flood back into the atmosphere.
In addition to what nature gives back to us, our own greenhouse pollution has almost doubled since 2001. There are a number of major sources, besides our own. We are beginning to have some idea of the total sequested material on the planet, but the speed at which these ancient stores will be released is still completely uncertain.
Scientists have made estimates, and we will list them here. However, in the end, only one thing is absolutely certain - much of this material will be released during this century.
The sums and totals are given at the end of this article, but first we need to "warm you up" a little. We need to discuss Siberia and Alaska, the Amazon, Indonesia and the deep oceans before we get to the totals.
The numbers given in journals can be very confusing. People use many units in describing these things: we shall use billion metric tonnes for mass [Bts] and CO2-e for the carbon dioxide equivalent of all greenhouse gasses combined, including methane, nitrous oxide and half a dozen others with minimal impact. Water vapour in the stratosphere is not included, though the amount has been gradually increasing.
GLOBAL WARMING SERIOUSLY UNDERESTIMATED
Let's add the sources of greenhouse gas and see how much we get!
"One of the hardest tasks we face in life is to be the bearer of seriously bad news . I now have to bring the worst of news . that civilisation is in grave danger."
James Lovelock, The Revenge of Gaia.
A number of simply gigantic reserves of greenhouse gasses that nature has stored for our benefit are now beginning to flood back into the atmosphere.
In addition to what nature gives back to us, our own greenhouse pollution has almost doubled since 2001. There are a number of major sources, besides our own. We are beginning to have some idea of the total sequested material on the planet, but the speed at which these ancient stores will be released is still completely uncertain.
Scientists have made estimates, and we will list them here. However, in the end, only one thing is absolutely certain - much of this material will be released during this century.
The sums and totals are given at the end of this article, but first we need to "warm you up" a little. We need to discuss Siberia and Alaska, the Amazon, Indonesia and the deep oceans before we get to the totals.
The numbers given in journals can be very confusing. People use many units in describing these things: we shall use billion metric tonnes for mass [Bts] and CO2-e for the carbon dioxide equivalent of all greenhouse gasses combined, including methane, nitrous oxide and half a dozen others with minimal impact. Water vapour in the stratosphere is not included, though the amount has been gradually increasing.
