Читать книгу How Can I Stop Climate Change: What is it and how to help - Литагент HarperCollins USD, F. M. L. Thompson - Страница 49

Trees are in the frontline of defence against climate change – the vast sub-arctic forests of the north being among the most important. The United States, for instance, would be having an even greater impact on global warming if its forests weren’t absorbing around a tenth of its carbon dioxide emissions.

The world was also 10-15 °C warmer then and there was no ice at the Poles. For much of the time that people have been on Earth, carbon Carbon moves between dioxide levels have been stable at around 270-280 ppm. But land, sea and air. This cycle since the Industrial Revolution they have been rising quickly, was in a finely tuned reaching 380 ppm in 2005. This is largely a result of our use of natural equilibrium, but coal, oil and gas: producing, distributing and burning fossil fuels it’s being disturbed by accounts for three quarters of all the emissions of carbon humankind’s use of fossil dioxide caused by humans. The rest comes from changes in fuels, land use change and the way land is used, particularly cutting down and burning deforestation. This trees. Scientists have calculated that carbon dioxide is diagram shows where and responsible for 63 per cent of global warming. And it can stay how much carbon is stored in the atmosphere for up to 200 years. Its long lifespan means and the yearly changes in that carbon dioxide released today will still be affecting the billions of tons of carbon climate for hundreds of years. (GtC).

Carbon moves between land, sea and air. This cycle was in a finely tuned natural equilibrium, but it’s being disturbed by humankind’s use of fossil fuels, land use change and deforestation. This diagram shows where and how much carbon is stored and the yearly changes in billions of tons of carbon (GtC).