Aloha Mr. Martin!

Wondering about how the earth responded to excess carbon dioxide in the atmosphere in the past? It makes sense to think that a higher amount of carbon dioxide might have encouraged photosynthesis and supported a 'green' planet. What do your scientists say about the increased levels of carbon dioxide today? Will it encourage another green era? Or are there limiting factors in the environment that put the brakes on all that?

warmly, Mrs. P and her students

Tim Martin

A warm hello to Mrs. P's class
Excellent and difficult question. I am sitting here in the office with 4 of the scientists and I just asked them to help with your question. There have been times in the past when the Carbon dioxide was much higher...during some of these times we know that there was forest the whole way up to the arctic ocean. So in a word, yes... it is likely that we will see a greening...in some places.
What concerns many scientists is how fast the change is happening. In the past we believe that the change happened much more gradually that what is happening today. So while it is likly that green zones will migrate north, the climate may change more rapidly than some of the plants will adapt. The other concern is that while temperatures may rise in northern locations, that may also change precipitation patterns. So warming in the Arctic regions, may likely mean increasing deserts in the tropical regions.
Finally another major problem with CO2 relates to sea level...while the earth may experience a greening, we also have to remember that sea level has changed a lot in the past. There have been times when sea level has been many meters lower than it is today and other times when it has been many meters higher... For everyone who lives near the ocean, this may dramatically change our lifestyle.
Hopefully our study and other similar ones will help us understand the past so we know what better to expect in the future.
T-Mart