Are The Forests Still Breathing?
by Sangeeta Haindl
Each year, as a species, humans dump about 8.8 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere, 6.5 billion tons from fossil fuels and 1.5 billion from deforestation. But less than half that total, 3.2 billion tons, remains in the atmosphere to warm the planet. So, where is the missing carbon? It's a mystery. Nature is breathing deeply and helping save us from ourselves; forests, grasslands and the waters from the seas and oceans must be acting as carbon sinks. They steal back roughly half of the carbon dioxide we emit, slowing its build-up in the atmosphere and delaying the effects on climate.
However, the problem is that scientists can't be sure that this will last, or whether, as the globe continues to warm, it might even change to where forests and other ecosystems go from carbon sinks to sources, releasing more carbon into the atmosphere than they absorb. These doubts have sent researchers into forests, tundra regions and to seas, to track down and understand the missing carbon. If the carbon sinks stop absorbing some of our excess carbon dioxide, we could be facing drastic changes even before 2050.
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Photo Credit: Wikimedia
Sangeeta Haindl writes on social innovation, social enterprise, and social entrepreneurs. She is the owner of Serendipity PR, in London, U.K., where she works with high-profile brands and organizations in the public, non-profit, and corporate sectors, winning awards for her work from the communications industry. She describes herself as a Spiritual Entrepreneur, Conscious Explorer, and Futurist. She enjoys helping others, paying it forward, and being a mum.
