“If you look at the geological history … we’re in a CO2 famine now compared to what’s normal for plants. And just about any plant if you give it more CO2, and a lot more, it will do better … most greenhouses double or triple the amount of CO2 … because the plants grow so much better – the quality of the flowers and the fruits are so much better,” Prof. Happer said.
He further explained that since the Cambrian explosion of life “CO2 levels have gone way down.”
The Cambrian explosion refers to the rapid and sudden emergence of complex life forms on Earth, approximately 541 million to 530 million years ago. It is believed to have laid the foundation for the incredible diversity of life on Earth, with many modern animal groups emerging during this period.
The high levels of carbon dioxide during the Cambrian period may have played a crucial role in the evolution of life on Earth. Studies suggest that carbon dioxide concentrations during the Cambrian period were much higher than they are today. One study found that CO2 levels were 1,000 parts per million (“ppm”) and R.A. Eggleton’s book ‘A Short History of Climate Change’ stated that CO2 levels may have been as high as 4,000 ppm during the Cambrian period, compared to the current level of around 400 ppm.
“[CO2 levels have] typically been three, four, five times than they are now. And plants are adapted to much higher levels and so they’re harmed in a number of ways by the low levels [of CO2] now,” Prof. Happer explained.
One of the harms to plants with low CO2 levels is photorespiration. Photorespiration is an important aspect of plant metabolism and plays a fundamental role in plant growth and development. When CO2 is low, “the enzyme [plants] use is poisoned by oxygen if there’s not enough CO2, so plants have to devote a lot of their resources to detoxifying this oxygen poisoning [instead of to growth],” he explained.
“If you double CO2 [the plants] don’t have to work as hard to protect themselves from oxygen. That’s the main reason greenhouses work better is that you get rid of the oxygen poisoning – the photorespiration,” he said.
“It’s unbelievable that they’ve managed to turn this beneficial gas, a part of life, into a threat,” he added. He continued:
“They talk about carbon pollution. I can’t imagine what they’re talking about. We’re made of carbon, and we breathe out two pounds of CO2 a day, each of us – that’s 8 billion people....<<<Read More>>>....
