Tropical forests used to protect us from climate change. Now,scientists say, they’re making it worse

Well, look at this, it turns out tropical forests aren't carbon sinks to help us get control of the carbon in the atmosphere. They are at best carbon neutral, and any little disturbance, say logging or fire, and they start releasing co2 into the atmosphere.

It seems that any solution to tackle global warming is reaching a dead end. It seems like nothing we can realistically do is going to reverse the climate change occurring on Earth now.

Tropical forests used to protect us from climate change. Now, scientists say, they’re making it worse
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news...e-now-making-it-worse/?utm_term=.7b691aa30bad

 

I don't have access to the full study but the abstract is confusing. It speaks of the gain/loss of "C", not CO2.

Decomposition by bacteria releases CO2 into the atmosphere but also returns nutrients to the soil thus enhancing new growth.

If we somehow stop this process then what happens to the capacity for new growth? The abstract says nothing about this.

 

This is not news. It is just a milestone. Deforestation is doing more harm than existing forests can counter.

The forests aren't making it worse. Deforestation is making it worse.

We have solutions. We could solve this problem in a decade if we had functional governments and politicians who understood science. And the biggest failure is with the people. Half the country is more worried about whether football players stand or kneel, than the destruction of the environment... except for those in Texas, Florida, and Puerto Rico. They care now.

 

The reason they're starting in on this is because there has been a large increase in plant life since the 80's due to more carbon in the air.

The planet is greening, and they gotta get in front of it.

 

What kind of nonsense are you pedaling? You're a comedian, right?

 

http://newatlas.com/nasa-climate-co2-plants/43037/

 

I've long suspected deforestion is one the main drivers in the human component of glocal warming.

 

Granny says, "Dat's right - purt soon won't be no air to breathe, den we all gonna die...

Tropical forests are now emitting more carbon than oxygen, alarming new study finds
29 Sept.`17 - Worrying report reveals true impact of damage to forested areas

 

CO2 is no longer the biggest worry anyway.....Methane release will be far more damaging and there is no way to stop it. The big thaw has begun and the results are uncontrollable.

 

As i understand it, the venting isn't new - it's part of the steady state.

What will cause the scales to be tipped in favor of warming or cooling will be something that changes.

The OP study suggests we have been causing the rate of carbon sequestration in forests to change by disturbing the forests, logging practices, water practices, fire practices, etc.

Methane is really bad - worse than CO2. Maybe if we find point sources of methane we could burn it to CO2, or find some way to convert it to a stable substance that would.

Unfortunately, there are methane sources that aren't point sources - such as thawing tundra. That IS becoming a big change - toward warming.

 

Absolutely, deforestation is definitely the issue here. I remember reading that planting trees, although helpful, cannot nearly solve the AGW problem. I found that link...

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2012/nov/29/planting-trees-climate-change
In 2000, the IPCC gathered the available evidence for a special report which concluded that tree-planting could sequester (remove from the atmosphere) around 1.1–1.6 GT of CO2 per year. That compares to total global greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 50 GT of CO2 in 2004.

 

OP

Wow, there's a whole new field of 'science' waiting to be exploited, er I mean explored by (faux) scientists there. Wait until they hear about it - they'll be queuing up to get a piece of the action.