> THE STABILIZATION OF THE CLIMATE

Part three looks at how the Earth stabilizes the climate preventing either a runaway global burning, or a global freezing, disaster. Over the last few aeons, geophysiological factors have prevented the climate from lapsing into a climatic extreme. Unfortunately, the Earth’s ability to stabilize the climate is currently in decline. Lovelock believes that over the last few million years, the primary factor preventing the climate from slipping towards a climatic extreme has been astronomic forcing.


ONE: THE EARTH’S MODERATION OF GLOBAL WARMING.

There are a number of geophysiological factors which oppose a rise in the Earth's average temperature and prevent the climate from continually getting hotter.

1.1: The Photosynthetic Effect.

1.1.1: The Rate of Photosynthesis.

Over the last few aeons, the rate of Photosynthesis has had a cybernetic role in stabilizing the Earth’s climate. When the Earth’s temperature rises there is an increase in the rate at which Photosynthesis extracts Carbon from the atmosphere thereby decreasing global temperatures. However, the moderating role of the rate of Photosynthesis would be lost if global temperatures reached 18C.

1.1.2: A Rise in Carbon Emissions; an Increase in Terrestrial Photosynthesis - the Fertilization Effect.

If there is a sudden release of Carbon into the atmosphere, whether from an earthquake, volcanic eruption or Forest fire, this boosts Photosynthesis thereby moderating the increase to the greenhouse effect. However, since the Photosynthetic extraction of Carbon from the atmosphere is a response to the release in Carbon emissions, the moderating effect is always less than the boost to global temperatures. Half of the Carbon released into the atmosphere is still there a hundred years later so climatic moderation occurs only marginally over a long period of time.

1.1.3: Soil Decomposition boosts Photosynthesis.

The warmer the climate, the greater the soil decomposition, the greater the release of nutrients into the soil. This boosts Photosynthesis and moderates the greenhouse effect, "Another possibility is that higher temperatures would increase rates of organic decomposition, which in turn would release nutrients to the soil and thus potentially boost the productivity of Trees."

1.2: The Greenhouse Effect.

There are a number of ways in which the greenhouse effect contributes to the moderation of global warming.

1.2.1: Methane Depletion of the Ozone Layer.

As the Earth warms, increasing amounts of methane are released from Peatbogs and methane deposits on ocean floors. If methane rises through the atmosphere into the stratosphere it damages the Earth's ozone layer. Since ozone is a greenhouse gas this moderates the greenhouse effect. However, once again, the reduction in the greenhouse effect caused by the depletion of stratospheric ozone lags behind the boost to the greenhouse effect caused by the release of methane so the moderating role of stratospheric ozone depletion is secondary.

1.2.2: Hydroxyl Radicals as a sink for Methane.

Atmospheric hydroxyl radicals react with methane and are thus regarded as a methane sink, "Methane is primarily removed by a reaction with hydroxyl radicals (OH) in the troposphere. This reaction represents a sink of about 400-600 million tonnes per year." The reaction between hydroxyl radicals and methane creates water and Carbon dioxide. Whilst hydroxyl radicals are a sink for methane they are not a sink for Carbon. The conversion of methane into Carbon dioxide reduces the greenhouse effect because the global warming potential of methane is greater than that of Carbon dioxide. Although the same amount of Carbon remains in the atmosphere there is a decrease in the greenhouse effect because of the conversion of methane to Carbon dioxide.

1.2.3: Forests.

1.2.3.1: The Dust Released by Forest Fires.

The warmer the climate, the greater the number of Forest fires, the greater the release of aerosols. Aerosols contain nutrients which boost Photosynthesis and this reduces the greenhouse effect. This happens whether the nutrients end up on the land or in the sea, "If iron controls the productivity of the oceans and thereby the natural level of atmospheric CO2 it follows that iron supply to the oceans could affect global temperatures through the heat trapping properties of CO2. Iron in the surface ocean comes mostly from dust in the atmosphere, soaked up from deserts or other arid regions. Measurements from ice-ages in Antarctica show that levels of wind blown dust were regularly higher during the ice ages which would explain why the atmospheric Carbon dioxide levels were substantially lower then."

Forest fires boost the greenhouse effect (through the release Carbon) before Photosynthesis moderates the greenhouse effect (through the extraction of atmospheric Carbon). On the other hand, the release of dust does not boost the greenhouse effect - it just boosts the Photosynthetic effect thereby countering the greenhouse effect. It is not known whether Forest fires’ contribution to the moderation of global warming through the release of aerosols is greater than the boost to global warming caused by the release of Carbon emissions. Forest fires have multiple impacts on the climate. Other impacts will be highlighted below.

1.2.3.2: Forest Fires and the Burial of Charcoal.

Some Forest fires moderate global warming through the creation of charcoal. It depends on the type of Trees in the Forest, "When a tree, such as an oak, burns incompletely and charcoal is formed, the burial of carbon results. However, not all trees burn this way: a resinous piece of pinewood, or a piece of eucalyptus, will practically explode into flames, leaving next to nothing but the gases of combustion."

The creation of charcoal permanently removes Carbon from planetary circulation because it cannot be absorbed by micro-organisms and returned to the atmosphere, "It might be that fires themselves are the regulators of oxygen. There is no shortage of lightning strikes for their ignition. If fires are the regulator it cannot be a simple relationship. Fires would lead to the burial of much more Carbon because charcoal is entirely resistant to biological degradation. Paradoxically fires lead to more oxygen in the long run. If this grim scenario is followed to a conclusion there would at first be a positive feedback on oxygen, but soon the Forests would be so devastated that Carbon production would fall to the point where oxygen was near or below its present level. A more subtle regulation involving fire would come from the effects of fire ecology on selection pressure."

Recent research suggests this role is far more important than has previously been assumed, "For years, everyone has assumed that plankton and other marine organisms play a key role in regulating the amount of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. But they may have been given more credit than they deserve, according to a new study which suggests that half of the carbon found in ocean sediments may not have been removed from the atmosphere by marine life but in fact came from forests. David Verardo, a geologist at the University of Virginia in Charlottesville, was addressing this question by studying organic matter in sections of a core of sediment drilled from the bottom of the Atlantic. Amazingly, about half of all the carbon in the core turned out to be charcoal .. In some sections, charcoal accounted for as much as 90% of the carbon. His explanation is that high winds, generated by the large temperature gradients which huge ice sheets created, transported an unusual amount of debris and charcoal dust from fires far out to sea."

1.2.4: The Consumption of Phytomass.

Decomposers play a vital role in consuming Phytomass (Plants) and biomass (dead plants/Animals/manure) and then making the nutrients available to Plants thereby stimulating further Photosynthesis. If the decay of Phytomass/biomass occurred only as a result of weathering by the elements then most of the Carbon would end up in the atmosphere boosting the greenhouse effect. When the decay is aided by either micro-organisms or Animals more of the Carbon is returned to the soil, thereby boosting Photosynthesis and moderating global warming.

For the first few aeons of the Earth’s history the main decomposers/scavengers were micro-organisms but as Animals began to emerge they too began to play a role in Phytomass/biomass decomposition. When Trees emerged on Earth some 300 million years ago, they were so tough it would have taken a long time for the elements to decomposed them. It would take less time for micro-organisms to break them down. However, when larger forms of Wildlife appeared they were able to break up Trees, and make the nutrients available for the soil, much more quickly. According to lovelock, the appearance of large Plants and Animals in the proterozoic period enabled Phytomass/biomass to be broken down so rapidly that it led to the development of an oxygen atmosphere, "The proterozoic period .. is poorly understood. Scientists know that for the most part it was a world of micro-organisms like the Archean. Unicellular life was hardly vigorous enough to bury the larger quantities of Carbon needed to sustain a high level of oxygen by counteracting its rapid removal by reaction with the rocks. I think that oxygen did not increase much above 1% until the evolution of large plants and animals."

1.2.5: Photosynthesizers Conserve Water and Reduce the Greenhouse Effect of Water Vapour.

Some scientists believe that as global temperatures rise, Plants conserve more and more water, "According to results published yesterday, Plants may respond to extra Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by conserving water. This would create a drier world, with fewer clouds and less rainfall, scientists said yesterday. Although the rainfall cycle depends on evaporation of seas and lakes, huge quantities of water are transpired through the leaves of Plants. (In the experiments Carbon rich atmospheres produced a reduction in) the transpiration of water by 9%. The implication is that there would be less water for cloud formation and a reduction of rainfall by 6%. This was the reverse of computer models, which suggested a warmer, wetter world." If this is true it will reduce the amount of water vapour in the atmosphere and thereby moderate global warming.

1.2.6: Water Dissolving Carbon in the Atmosphere.

Carbon is removed from the atmosphere when it is dissolved by rainfall. If there is more rainfall as a result of a rise in global temperatures this will extract more Carbon from the atmosphere thus moderating global warming.

1.3: The Albedo Effect.

This section explores the albedo effect’s contribution to the moderation of global warming.

1.3.1: Forests.

1.3.1.1: The Albedo Effect of the Cloud Cover Created by Forests.

If there is an increase in global temperatures there will be an increase in the scale of the taiga Forest which will boost cloud cover and thus moderate global temperatures.

1.3.1.2: The Albedo Effect of the Dust Released by Forest Fires. As global temperatures rise there is an increase in Forest fires. Forest fires release dust which increases the Earth’s albedo effect and thus moderates global temperatures.

1.3.1.3: The Dust Released by Forest Fires stimulates Marine Algae and boosts the Albedo Effect of Clouds.

As global temperatures rise there is an increase in Forest fires. The aerosols released by Forest fires boosts the growth of marine Algae. Marine Algae release dimethyl sulphide which stimulates cloud formation and thereby moderates global temperatures.

1.3.2: Marine Algae.

1.3.2.1: Dust stimulates Marine Algae and boosts the Albedo Effect of Clouds.

As global temperatures rise there is an increase in winds, which causes an increase in wind erosion. The winds blow dust from deserts or drought stricken areas into the sea boosting the growth of marine Algae. Marine Algae release dimethyl sulphide which stimulates cloud formation, moderating the rise in global temperatures, "Winds blow the dust from the arid land out over the oceans, where the iron in the dust helps marine organisms to grow. One effect of this is that plankton thrive, absorbing carbon dioxide, turning it into carbonates in their shells, and dropping it onto the sea floor when they die. Another is that marine algae thrive, increasing the cloud cover of the planet - and clouds reflect away some of the heat of the Sun."

Lovelock believes marine Algae are an important influence on the Earth’s climate. He concludes that the white Daisies in his Daisyworld computer model represent, in the real world, oceanic Algal blooms, "We can speculate that the blankets of white marine stratus clouds reflecting sunlight back to space above the Algal blooms of the ocean, are the white Daisies, and the dark conifer Forests of the Northern temperate regions are the black Daisies."

1.3.3: Oceans.

1.3.3.1: The Increase in Evaporation from the Oceans Increases the Albedo Effect of Clouds.

A rise in global temperatures increases the evaporation of water from the oceans which boosts the greenhouse effect. If, however, water vapour is converted into clouds this increases the Earth’s albedo effect and moderates global cooling, "Any overall rise in temperature will mean an increase in the warming of moist air masses over the oceans. Global warming will lead to an increase in cloud cover which will, in turn, help to nullify the greenhouse effect."

1.3.4: Peatbogs.

1.3.4.1: The Increase in Evaporation from Peatbogs will Increase the Albedo Effect of Clouds.

As the Earth warms, Peatbogs release more water vapour which increases the albedo effect thereby cooling the Earth, "In summer they transpire more water than Forests, stimulating the formation of reflective clouds."

1.3.5: Deserts.

It has been alleged that Micro-organisms reduce the albedo effect of deserts, "Today such microbial terrestrial communities inhabit the deserts in places where plants cannot live. These ‘cryptogamic’ microbial crusts are essential agents that hold thin soils against erosion. .. the surface temperature of Earth in the earliest days of land life, though hot by our standards, was nevertheless significantly cooler than the hell it would have been without this microbial crust."

1.4: The Heat Effect.

1.4.1: The Oceans.

1.4.1.1: Ocean Currents Release Cool Water.

In the light of the 1997 el nino, the validity of the following phenomenon is questionable but it is included just in case, "A team based in new york has found that as the Earth warms up, currents in the tropical pacific change so that more cold water reaches the sea’s surface, causing air around the world to cool. This feedback mechanism is keeping global warming in check - at least for now. .. the temperature difference between the cool east and warm west should increase. This temperature difference in turn drives the trade winds, which blow westwards, taking surface water with them and allowing more cold water to reach the surface in the east."

1.4.2: Forests.

The warmer that global temperatures become, the smaller the scale of the Rainforests, the less solar energy they absorb. This cools the Earth and stabilizes the climate. As far as the taiga Forests are concerned the opposite is true: the warmer the global temperatures, the greater the scale of the taiga Forests, the greater the solar energy they absorb, the greater the heat effect. However, it also has to be considered that a rise in global temperatures could damage the taiga Forest and thus moderate its boost to global temperatures, "Boreal Forests are likely to have the hardest time in terms of climate change because they are in the regions where the temperature is expected to rise faster than anywhere else 4-5C above current temperatures."

1.4.3: The Limitations to the Evaporation of Water.

Some commentators have suggested that a rise in global temperatures will lead to an increase in evaporation which will boost global warming. One commentator has even argued this process is exponential, "As increases in carbon dioxide warm the surface and the atmosphere, more water evaporates from the surface and remains in the atmosphere. In fact, the amount of water vapor that can be held by the atmosphere increases exponentially with temperature." However, bunyard highlights the limitations of this positive feedback process .. "this situation cannot go on forever and a point is finally reached when the dynamics of water evaporation, followed by precipitation, cancel each other out."

1.5: Geophysical Factors.

1.5.1: Rock Weathering.

Chemical weathering takes place when acidic rainfall dissolves minerals from rocks whether these are on the surface or in the soil. Three types of acid rain contribute to rock weathering; sulphuric acid, nitric acid and Carbonic acid. Sulphuric acid is created through sulphur emissions released either by volcanic eruptions or by marine Algae. Carbonic acid is produced when water vapour/rainfall dissolves Carbon in the atmosphere, "CO2 is slightly soluble and a little of it dissolves from the air into rainwater, turning the water into weak carbonic acid (H2CO3). The carbonic acid reacts with compounds of calcium, silicon, and oxygen in rock."

The chemicals created by the reactions between acids and rocks, leech through the soil into waterways and eventually drain into the seas, "Calcium and bicarbonate (HCO3) are released and carried, dissolved in the water, eventually to the sea." The Carbon is taken up by marine Algae, "Calcium and bicarbonate (HCO3) are released and carried, dissolved in the water, eventually to the sea. Once in the sea, living organisms convert the calcium and bicarbonate into insoluble calcium carbonate (CaCO3) from which they make their shells."; "Some algae (the diatoms) take the silicic acid to make their skeletons; and other algae (the coccolithophores) take their calcium bicarbonate to make skeletons of calcium carbonate."

After marine micro-organisms have died their shells fall to the ocean floor. Over millions of years, huge quantities of shells accumulate on the ocean floor. They are gradually compressed, under their own weight and the water above them, into limestone, "The fall of tiny shells from the dead algae (coccolithophores) is responsible for calcium carbonate and silica deposition in the sediments of the ocean floor..."; "The concentration of CO2 in the mixed layer of the ocean, the top 250 feet, is as much as the entire atmosphere itself. In this region of the ocean, micro-organisms use the carbon dioxide in the form of bicarbonate to make their skeletons and shells. When the animal dies, its hard shell or skeleton settles on the bottom of the ocean where it contributes to the formation of carbonate rock. If the calcium carbonate falls to greater depths, it is dissolved in the cold deep waters of the abyssal. The abyssal region, by virtue of its great volume, holds the vast majority of free carbon dioxide."

According to lovelock, rock weathering is the most important means of removing Carbon from the atmosphere, "The abundance of CO2 in the air depends on the balance between the amount being injected from beneath the crust through volcanoes and the amount lost from the air by chemical reaction at the Earth’s surface."; "Calcium silicate rock .. is the only true sink for carbon dioxide."

Lovelock believes that life accelerates rock weathering, "When plants die, their roots decay into the soil, and the organic carbon reacts with the rocks in a process known as weathering. (Weathering also occurs while the Plants are alive, since some of the Carbon dioxide they absorb is not used but is conducted and deposited deep into the soil, initiating the same chain of chemical reactions). In a process catalyzed and hastened by bacteria, the carbon and the oxygen of the plant materials react with the calcium silicate, the substance of rock particles, releasing oxygen into the atmosphere and forming calcium carbonate (limestone) and gelatinous silicic acid. Unlike their rock-solid silicate predecessors, limestone and silicic acid dissolve readily into the groundwater and are transported to local streams and rivers, which empty into the sea. Marine organisms filter the limestone from the water to form their shells, essentially reconstituting the land stones for use as their shelter."; "If the soil of a well-vegetated region almost anywhere on Earth is examined, the Carbon dioxide content is between 10 and 40 times higher than the atmosphere. What is happening is that living organisms act like a giant pump. They continuously remove Carbon dioxide from the air and conduct it deep into the soil where it can react with rock particles and be removed. Consider a Tree. In its lifetime it deposits tons of Carbon gathered from the air into its roots, some carbon dioxide escapes by root respiration during its lifetime, and when the Tree dies the Carbon of the roots is oxidized by consumers, releasing Carbon dioxide deep in the soil. In one way or another living organisms on the land are engaged in the business of pumping Carbon dioxide from the air into the ground. There it comes into contact with, and reacts with, the calcium silicate of the rocks to form calcium carbonate and silicic acid. Were life not present, the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere would have to reach the calcium silicate of the rocks by slow inorganic processes like diffusion." "Chemical weathering of calcium and magnesium silicates in rocks is a much bigger Carbon sink, and one that absorbs Carbon at 4 times the rate it is buried as reduced organic Carbon. Chemical weathering acts as a sink for Carbon, locking it up in limestone." Lovelock has argued, "All life forms, from micro-organisms to trees, from amoebae to elephants, in various ways increase the rate of rock weathering, which is the sink for the greenhouse gas, CO2."

Forests play a major role in rock weathering, "Most geochemists agree that Forests promote the chemical weathering of the crust, a process that removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and thus tends to reduce the greenhouse effect and global temperature. Organisms that influence the global environment, like .. trees, which promote weathering, all perform their vital functions for other reasons. .. trees create acidic soils to acquire mineral nutrients. The dms climate feedback appears to be positive today so climatic stability probably relies on stabilizing factors such as the tree-weathering feedback."; "Solid support for increased weathering by vegetation is coming from experiments .. We usually think of trees as defined by trunks, branches, and leaves. But as a recent biochemical guild (assemblage) of gaia, it may be tree roots that are most significant in altering the cycle of elements. In the largest taxonomy of the guilds, trees are photosynthesizers, big siblings to algae and cyanobacteria. But they occupy a unique slot as rooted photosynthesizers. Rooted photosynthesizers have worked distinctive effects on the cycles of carbon and other elements."

Lovelock speculates that because Plants absorb, and release, roughly the same amounts of Carbon, the Carbon added to the atmosphere by volcanoes might be expected to increase the greenhouse effect. The reason it doesn’t, he believes, is because volcanic emissions are balanced by rock weathering. Geological rock weathering would not be fast enough to extract the Carbon dumped into the atmosphere through volcanic eruptions. Rock weathering needs micro-organisms to speed up the process, "Without the organisms - with only the slow diffusion of carbonated rainwater through the rocks - carbon dioxide would build up to a far greater concentration, he argues, perhaps 100 times what it actually is, before reaching equilibrium. Such a concentration of carbon dioxide would have a massive greenhouse effect: Earth would be uninhabitable."

Rock weathering moderates global warming because the warmer the Earth, the greater the increase in chemical weathering, the greater the deposition of Carbon, the bigger the decrease in the greenhouse effect, "Chemical weathering acts as a sink for Carbon, locking it up in limestone. And the warmer the Earth is, the faster the weathering proceeds and the more CO2 is taken from the atmosphere. Chemical weathering, transforming calcium silicates to carbonates, stabilizes the climate, removing more CO2 when the climate is warmer and less when it is cooler." Rock weathering is a major geophysiological process stabilizing the climate.

Rock weathering is such a powerful factor it not merely moderates global warming it can also produce global cooling, "The rise of the angiosperms may have also contributed to global cooling during the last 100 million years. Volk suggested that the spread of angiosperm-deciduous ecosystems had caused a higher rate of global weathering, and thus increased fluxes of Ca and Mg ions from continental silicates contributed to the increasing importance of calcareous plankton. The plankton precipitation in turn depleted the atmospheric carbon dioxide."

1.5.2: The Drying up of the Tundra.

It has been argued that as global temperatures rise the tundra will release vast quantities of methane thereby boosting global burning. However, some commentators believe the reverse is true: the tundra will dry out thereby decreasing methane emissions. This is because methane is released by tundra Flowers only in wet conditions whereas, when it is dry, methane is oxidized by bacteria in the soil .. "in drier tundra soils the release of methane gas decreased rather than increased. .. it seems that the increase in temperature from global warming would result in a reduction of the emission of methane gas from the tundra .."



TWO: THE MODERATION OF GLOBAL COOLING.

Over the last few aeons the Earth has been able to modify climate extremes such as global freezing. However, over the last couple of million years, as the intensity of solar radiation has increased, the Earth has found it necessary to provoke ice ages in order to stabilize the climate. But the Earth faces an acute difficulty over the generation of ice ages. Given the ever increasing output of solar radiation, it is imperative that the Earth possesses the capability for creating, and maintaining, ice ages. On the other hand, the Earth has to prevent the climate from lapsing into a runaway global freezing disaster which could destroy a significant proportion of life on Earth. It seems as if the Earth needs an almost super-computer like precision, and all-encompassing controls over its geophysiological processes, to produce ice ages which combat increasing solar radiation but don’t veer off into a runaway global freezing. The first chapter outlined some of the factors preventing global cooling from accelerating into global freezing. This section explores all such factors. If it ever became possible to determine the limits of the Earth’s powers to perpetuate ice ages this would indicate when the Earth is likely to start burning up. Paradoxically, what has come to the Earth’s rescue is medium term astronomic changes pushing the Earth out of ice ages and into inter-glacials thereby preventing the Earth from slipping into a global freezing disaster.

2.1: The Photosynthetic Effect.

2.1.1: The Rate of Photosynthesis.

The rate of Photosynthesis has a cybernetic role in stabilizing the Earth’s climate. When the Earth’s temperature falls there is a decrease in the rate of Photosynthesis which allows the build up of Carbon in the atmosphere thereby boosting global temperatures. However, it is believed the scale of Photosynthesis has a greater impact on the climate than the rate of Photosynthesis so it has a greater role in determining what happens to the climate.

2.1.2: The Scale of Photosynthesis.

2.1.2.1: The Irregularity of the Reduction in the Scale of Photosynthesis.

Over the last few million years, as global temperatures begin to fall, so do the level of the Earth’s oceans thereby creating more Forested land in the tropics than is lost under ice sheets on the amero-euro-asian continents. This boosts global cooling. However, it is possible the increase in the scale of Photosynthesis does not occur linearly over time. There may be a slow down in the cooling trend - although the trend might be resumed more forcefully later if it rebounds from such a constraint.

2.1.2.2: Cooling Damages Tropical Photosynthesis.

The fall in global temperatures might eventually affect the climate in the tropics thereby reducing the rate of Photosynthesis carried out by tropical Rainforests. This would decrease the extraction of Carbon from the atmosphere and thus boost the greenhouse effect.

2.1.2.3: No further Increase in the Scale of Photosynthesis.

It is possible that as global temperatures fall there comes a point when there is no further net increase in Forested land. This would stop the Earth’s temperatures from falling any further. It is possible this factor might produce an end to the current system of climate regulation before the removal of all Carbon in the atmosphere.

2.1.2.4: The End of Photosynthesis.

The most obvious limit to the possibility of a spiralling global freezing disaster is that once all the Carbon has been extracted from the atmosphere it would not be possible for Photosynthesis to drive down global temperatures any further.

2.1.3: Burning, and Suffocating, Peatbogs.

When global temperatures fall, Peatbogs absorb more atmospheric Carbon thereby reinforcing global cooling. However, there are two limitations preventing Peatbogs from provoking a perpetual ice age on Earth. Firstly, Peatbogs boost the level of atmospheric oxygen which produces fires that destroy Peatbogs, "Klinger speculates that the cycle (of Peatbogs driving down temperatures which help to further drive down temperatures) gets broken by the very success of the sedge mosses. Thus, in the equation of Carbon dioxide drawdown and the burial of organic Carbon, oxygen gets released into the atmosphere and tends slowly but surely to rise. Higher oxygen levels mean that peatlands dry out and become more susceptible to burning, causing Carbon dioxide levels to rise and large quantities of methane to be released."

Secondly, the ice sheets spreading across the amero-euro-asian continents bury both Forests and Peatbogs. Peatbogs no longer extract Carbon from the atmosphere thereby inducing global warming, "The advancing ice of the glacial period also destroys the bogs and the process therefore become self-limiting."; .. "peatlands could have been an important part of the biological mechanisms that many believe have helped plunge the Planet into and out of glaciation. Alterations in the extent of Peatbogs would change the concentration of Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere by up to 20%. Global cooling would encourage the growth of Peatbogs, at the expense of Forests. Over thousands of years, the Peatbogs would extract Carbon from the atmosphere and store it, so reducing the natural greenhouse effect and driving temperatures still lower. Eventually ice sheets would cover the bogs, perhaps helping to trigger the end of the glaciation."

2.1.4: Clouds Reduce Photosynthesis.

If global cooling increases cloud cover, this would reduce Photosynthesis and moderate the fall in global temperatures, "More reflective clouds dampen photosynthetic potential (of marine Phytoplankton) by reducing the light that reaches the surface (of the oceans)."

2.2: The Greenhouse Effect.

2.2.1: Historical Examples of Carbon Emissions Combating Global Cooling.

If global temperatures fall and greenhouse gases are released into the atmosphere this would moderate global cooling. There are historical examples of Carbon escaping into the atmosphere and moderating falling temperatures.

2.2.1.1: Historical Perspective.

"Studying the isotope geochemistry of ancient rocks, geologists found evidence that methanogenic bacteria was indeed a dominant fossil-organism during the interval 2.9 to 2.5 billion years ago. (Methanogenic bacteria are single celled creatures which convert carbonate mineral into methane which heats the Earth). Their release of methane was to keep the Earth warm enough to sustain life. When our planet was again over-heated, gaia gave us cyanobacteria, an ‘air conditioner’ because it precipitates limestone. This new lifeform was the dominant lifeform until some 650 million years ago, when the over-zealous ‘air conditioner’ was about to turn the Earth into an ice-box. Gaia had to act, and the new life forms were soft bodied Animals: worms, Meldusas, etc. They ate up cyanobacteria, and gave back to the atmosphere the Carbon dioxide and water .."

2.2.1.2: The Spurt of Carbon Emissions at the end of the last Ice Age.

Lovelock believes that at the end of the last ice age there was a sudden release of Carbon emissions, "We know that Carbon dioxide has fallen in abundance during the Earth’s history, but it jumped from 180 to near 300 ppm within a hundred years as the last glaciation ended. A rapid rise like this cannot easily be explained by the slow processes of geochemistry." He speculates that, "The sudden increase of CO2 that came before the present inter-glacial could not have been due to a reduction in the weathering rate. More probably it was connected with the decline of the ocean algal system and with changes in the Peatbog ecosystems, as proposed by lee klinger in 1991."

2.2.2: The Failure of Carbon Burial in the Oceans.

2.2.2.1: The Oceanic Absorption of Carbon; Saturation or Sediment?

Huge amounts of Carbon are dissolved in the oceans as a result of rock weathering, rainfall or absorption from the atmosphere. If the Carbon in the oceans is taken up by micro-organisms and buried on the ocean floor then, theoretically, the oceans could continually absorb more and more Carbon thus perpetually reducing the greenhouse effect - and maybe even triggering off global freezing. However, if all the Carbon transported to the oceans remains in solution there would come a point when the oceans could no longer absorb more Carbon and the excess would be pushed back into the atmosphere. If global temperatures were falling at the time, this would moderate global cooling, "If most of the CO2 is absorbed in solution then a limit will be reached, but if most is trapped in the sediments, the absorption can continue indefinitely." It is not known whether the oceanic absorption of Carbon has a saturation point or not. Whilst in some parts of the ocean, sedimentation seems to take place, in other parts it does not. There are a number of factors preventing the oceanic burial of Carbon and they have the effect of moderating the falls in global temperatures.

2.2.2.2: The Carbonate Compensation Depth.

Some of the shells of dead marine organisms are prevented from sinking to the ocean floor by ‘the carbonate compensation depth’. But, even if Carbon is prevented from reaching the ocean floor this does not mean it will automatically float back to the surface of the ocean and be released into the atmosphere, "Carbon dioxide is only slightly soluble in water and, as with oxygen, its solubility decreases as the temperature rises. When it dissolves, some of the carbon dioxide forms carbonic acid (H2CO3), and the remainder bicarbonate (HCO3) ions, and the reactions proceed in either direction so carbonic acid and bicarbonate are constantly dissociating and reforming. When water containing carbonic acid, and saturated with carbon dioxide, comes into contact with rocks containing calcium, the two react to form calcium bicarbonate {Ca[HCO3]2), which is soluble. If the water then mixes with water containing little dissolved carbon dioxide, or is exposed to the air, the calcium bicarbonate will dissociate, yielding Carbon dioxide, water and calcium carbonate (CaCO3) - which is insoluble and settles as a precipitate. Calcium carbonate is insoluble in surface water, but it becomes increasingly soluble at lower temperatures and at higher pressures it dissociates, releasing carbon dioxide. These conditions occur in the deep oceans where there is a ‘carbonate compensation depth’ below which carbonates break down to release carbon dioxide faster than they form, so that the insoluble calcium carbonate sinking from above fails to reach the ocean floor and there is no accumulation of sediment. In the pacific ocean, the carbonate compensation depth lies between 13,000 and 16,500 feet. The release of Carbon dioxide below the carbonate compensation depth does not return it to the atmosphere, however, because there is little mixing between deep water and surface water - the deep water is colder and, therefore, denser than the overlying water."

2.2.2.3: Upwelling of Carbon from Seabed.

Even if the shells of dead marine micro-organisms reach the ocean floor this does not mean they will be permanently buried there as sedimentary rock, "When the Animal (marine Algae) dies, its hard shell or skeleton settles on the bottom of the ocean where it contributes to the formation of Carbonate rock. If the calcium Carbonate falls to greater depths, it is dissolved in the cold deep waters of the abyssal. The abyssal region, by virtue of its great volume, holds the vast majority of free Carbon dioxide. Due to upwelling of CO2-rich waters from the deep ocean ..." It has been estimated that, "Carbon dioxide exchanges between the ocean and atmosphere in the equatorial zone east of the international dateline resulted in 1000 million tonnes of carbon being exported to the atmosphere as a result of upwelling. This figure would be considerably higher were it not for biological processes which re-use carbon brought to the surface by upwelling in the eastern Pacific. Results from the ORSTOM Research Institute in Noumea, New Caledonia, also indicated that during El Nino events atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations tended to increase less rapidly and during La Nina carbon dioxide measurements indicated a more rapid increase in atmospheric concentration."

2.2.2.4: Phosphate’s Role in Photosynthesis and Carbon Burial.

Lovelock argues that as Carbon is buried on the oceans floors, corresponding amounts of oxygen are left in the atmosphere so that, over the aeons, oxygen has in effect replaced Carbon in the atmosphere. Recent research has suggested this process involves a further stage which moderates the speed of Carbon burial. Dick holland has shown .. "how the concentration of atmospheric oxygen in the atmosphere has remained stable at around 20% for the last 300 million years. It has long been presumed that this was the result of biotic processes such as Photosynthesis and decay. But Holland believes this is not enough. Oxygen is released to the atmosphere for the long term, he explains, when Carbon is locked up for the long term. This happens when the remains of dead marine organisms are deposited in deep ocean sediments. And the growth of those organisms is limited by the availability of phosphate, a vital Plant nutrient. Enter ferric hydroxide, a "powerful scavenger of phosphate" formed in the oceans when their abundant dissolved iron meets free oxygen. More oxygen means more ferric hydroxide, which means less phosphate, thus less Photosynthesis, which means less Carbon deposition in marine sediments, which means less oxygen in the ocean, and ultimately in the atmosphere too - completing the loop to make a self-regulating negative feedback cycle." The limit on Carbon burial makes it more likely that Carbon will escape back into the atmosphere and thus moderate global cooling.

2.2.2.5: Oceanic Decomposers/Fermenters prevent Carbon from being Buried on the Seabed.

Decomposers at the bottom of the oceans digest organic material and release methane into the oceans. Bacteria called sulphate reducers gain energy by splitting sulphate for its oxygen, "Employing the oxygen they gain in this way, these sulphate reducers feast on the carbon-rich detritus, excreting carbon dioxide as a waste gas." Some of this methane might escape into the atmosphere and moderate global cooling, "Oxygen in the air comes from the burial of Carbon. Consumers are efficient, and only about 2% of Carbon photosynthesized reaches the sediments, where most of it is returned to the oxidized environment as methane. So only one part in a thousand of the Carbon fixed by the plants is buried deep." The movement of Carbon in the oceans seems just as vigorous as the movements of Carbon in the atmosphere.

2.2.3: Volcanoes Releasing Greenhouse Gases.

Lovelock speculates that rock weathering and volcanism are two key determinants of the concentration of atmospheric Carbon, "The abundance of CO2 in the air depends on the balance between the amount being injected from beneath the crust through volcanoes and the amount lost from the air by chemical reaction at the Earth’s surface." If global temperatures are falling and a volcanic eruption releases greenhouse gases this would help to moderate global cooling.

Whilst volcanic eruptions have an influence on the climate they do not play a climate stabilization role i.e. increasing/decreasing global temperatures have no effect on the frequency of volcanic eruptions. Volcanoes erupt for their own geophysical reasons unrelated to the climate - although some commentators have speculated about a relationship, "A team of US researchers studying the history of volcanic eruptions in the northern hemisphere has found that rapid changes in the climate - both cooling and warming - may be linked with an increase in the rate of volcanic eruptions."; "Nearly 60% of active volcanoes form islands or occupy coastal sites, and nearly all of the rest lie within 250 kilometres of a coastline. So changing sea levels could directly affect the stresses inside nearly all volcanoes, helping to expel the magma explosively. .. if human activity were to cause the catastrophic melting of the ice caps, this may well be followed or accompanied by a burst of elevated explosive volcanic activity. Nature’s way of cooling the planet may serve as an explosive warning about the consequences if we continue to tinker with the enormously complicated global system that is the Earth."

2.2.4: Carbon Emissions from Soil Decomposition.

Micro-organisms living in the soil, and in the sediments at the bottom of lakes, marshes, and rivers, break down organic matter and release methane which boosts the greenhouse effect. Over the aeons, anaerobic micro-organisms have played a vital role in pumping Carbon back into the atmosphere, "A world with photosynthesizers only is unstable. They would soon have locked up in their bodies most of the available carbon. Their removal of carbon dioxide would have so weakened the greenhouse that the world would have frozen, and life ceased. This never happened. There co-existed with the photosynthesizers simple fermenters, the methanogens. These organisms processed the organic matter made by the photosynthesizers and returned the carbon to the air as a mixture of methane and carbon dioxide, restoring the greenhouse."; "The anaerobic sediments of the soil are also the source of the methane that removes oxygen from the atmosphere, so keeping the balance, and is essential to life on Earth." If global cooling increases soil decomposition, dumping more methane into the atmosphere then this would help to counter global cooling.

2.3: The Albedo Effect.

2.3.1: The Decrease in Oceanic Evaporation Decreases the Albedo Effect of Clouds.

As the Earth’s temperatures fall, there is a decline in the evaporation of water from the oceans. This reduces cloud formation, decreases the albedo effect of clouds, and thus moderates global cooling. The greater the fall in global temperatures, the smaller the evaporation of water, the fewer the clouds, the smaller the albedo effect of clouds, the greater the global warming.

2.4: The Heat Effect.

2.4.1: The Heat Effect of the Tropical Rainforests.

The colder that global temperatures become, the greater the scale of the Rainforests, the more heat which is absorbed and returned to the atmosphere.

2.5: Geophysical Factors.

2.5.1: Rock (Chemical) Weathering.

The colder the Earth, the slower the rate of chemical weathering, the less Carbon which leeches into the oceans, the less Carbon permanently stored on the ocean floor, the greater the boost to global warming.

2.5.2: The Decrease in Soil Decomposition Decreases Tree Growth.

As the climate cools there is a decrease in soil decomposition, a decrease in the nutrients available to Trees and thus a decline in Tree growth which moderates global cooling.

2.5.3: Floods counter Ice Sheets.

A freak geophysical event could reverse a period of global freezing, "A huge flood may have ended one of Earth’s most recent ice ages, say researchers in canada and the u.s. About 120,000 years ago, a freak cold spell known as the ‘younger dryas’ shut down the north atlantic gulf stream for 13,000 years. Without this flow of warm, tropical water to the north, ice sheets advanced again and left much of northern europe and north america uninhabitable. Climatologists believe that the north could only have warmed up again once the gulf stream had restarted. Timothy fisher and gerald smith .. suggested how the gulf stream might have restarted. The pair claim that a lake the size of sweden flooded into the arctic ocean. The heat radiating into the atmosphere when the lake water froze in the ocean would have disrupted the circulation of air around the north pole, "jump-starting" the gulf stream. When the lake water reached the ocean and froze, it gave off some 13.5 billion billion joules of energy a day, enough to alter global atmospheric circulation, says fisher."


THREE: OVERALL CONCLUSIONS.

3.1: The Jumble of Factors contributing toward the Climate.

It would be difficult to conclude from the above analysis that the Earth has a highly-efficient, streamlined, dedicated, climate regulation system in which every part of the Earth’s life support system contributes, in one way or another, to the greater good of stabilizing the climate. On the contrary, the Earth seems to be composed of a chaotic jumble of geophysiological factors pushing and pulling the climate in every direction. Some factors push the Earth towards climatic extremes and others moderate such changes. From this perspective it is a wonder life has managed to survive on Earth let alone flourish. It is only when the facts of the Earth’s climate history are taken into consideration that climate regulation becomes apparent. Firstly, the fact that life has existed on Earth continuously for the last two and a half aeons suggests there has been climate regulation. Secondly, there is no evidence that the Earth’s climate became so bad that it destroyed all life on Earth - so that years later it had to restart again from the beginning. There have been calamities in which substantial proportions of the Earth’s Biodiversity has disappeared but these mass extinctions were caused by external disasters rather than the Earth’s climate going off the rails.

A part of the reason why the multiplicity of factors influencing the Earth’s climate seems so chaotic is scientists’ ignorance about the climate. They have not yet determined all the factors playing a role in the climate. They haven’t determined the significance of their roles in the Earth’s climate. They cannot say what the hierarchy of their significance is, "The relative influence of life’s stabilizing and destabilizing feedbacks remains uncertain; what is clear is that climate and natural ecosystems are tightly coupled, and the stability of that coupled system is an important ecosystem service." The lack of scientific evidence about the Earth's climate is considerable.

The Earth seems to have as many factors destabilizing the climate as stabilizing it. Scientists’ ignorance makes it difficult to say whether the Earth’s climate stabilizing factors are more powerful than the destabilizing factors so, once again, it only becomes obvious that the stabilizing factors are more powerful when the facts of the Earth’s history are taken into account. The existence of geophysiological processes that destabilize the climate suggests that the Earth’s climate regulation ‘system’ is not a machine in which all the elements fit together and work co-operatively like a watch. Gaia is not a gourmet recipe with complementary ingredients designed to produce a precise taste experience. It is more of a hotch potch stew which is rough on the palate but offers substantial nourishment.

The above analysis of the Earth’s two destabilization tendencies suggests the Earth is much more likely to burn up like venus than it is to freeze like mars. There seem to be far more factors pushing the Earth in the direction of global burning than toward global freezing. This poses a considerable danger because only global burning has the capability of destroying the biosphere. It is unlikely that global freezing could become severe enough to destroy all life on Earth and the biosphere itself. Life seems safer during ice ages than it is in periods of global burning. In terms of Biodiversity, ice ages may cause a considerable reduction in the numbers of species, especially those on land, whilst periods of global warming might create an incredible profusion of life but, in terms of tenure, life is much less insecure during glacial periods than when the Earth is hotting up. As the Earth warms up there is an increase in the risk of the climate slipping towards an extreme which could destroy the entire Biosphere. Whilst life in the oceans seems safe no matter how cold it gets, it is the first to disappear when global temperatures rise.

3.2: The Miracle of Photosynthesis.

The main factor stabilizing the climate over the bulk of the Earth’s history has been Photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is commonly perceived as being a provider of food, whilst the most sophisticated bipeds bless it for the production of oxygen but few appreciate its comprehensive role in making the Earth fit for habitation and its critical in stabilizing the climate - after all, without Photosynthesis, there would be no Carbon-based life-forms on Earth, no soil, no hydrogen, no water, no clouds, no oceans. When the Earth first formed it was a cauldron of volcanic activity, islands of molten lava, nuclear radiation, and meteorite bombardments. It faced a sun which, although weak at the time, would pump out increasing levels of solar energy for the next dozen aeons. It contained vast quantities of Carbon in the atmosphere which would retain the increasing levels of heat emitted by the sun. Given the Earth’s position between venus and mars, it looked as if the Earth was destined to remain a very hot planet where the prospects for life would increasingly diminish. If there had been no Photosynthesis on Earth then global average temperatures would now be in the region of 240-340C, "Without life the Earth would have an atmosphere comparable to venus, with 98% carbon dioxide, 1.9% nitrogen, a trace of oxygen, an atmospheric pressure 60 times that of the living Earth and an average surface temperature between 240C and 340C." Somewhere between the intense heat of its formation and the increasing intensity of solar radiation, the Earth must have cooled enough to allow the first few Photosynthesizing organisms to flourish. Once established, Photosynthesizers started extracting Carbon from the atmosphere and began reducing global temperatures, preventing the increasing levels of solar radiation from burning up the planet.

3.3: The Role of Life on Earth.

The miracle of Photosynthesis which produces the miraculous cooling of the Earth means that the role of life on Earth is to keep the planet cool. The cooler the Earth, the safer life is on the planet. The warmer the Earth, the greater the danger of the climate slipping back towards its natural (pre-life) state - the searing temperatures which could be expected from a planet in the Earth’s position in the solar system. Life artificially cools a naturally hot planet.

3.4: The Earth is losing its Climate Stabilization System.

Over the last couple of aeons life has stabilized the climate but, over the last couple of million years the intensity of solar radiation and the depletion of Carbon in the atmosphere, has meant the Earth is losing this capability. The climate remains in a stable state merely on a wing and a prayer. It is not so much geophysiological factors such as Photosynthesis which are preventing a runaway global burning/freezing disaster, than medium term astronomic forcing. There are still many geophysiological processes contributing to the stabilization of the climate but they are weaker than the factors destabilizing it. Paradoxically, although the sun’s long term increase in solar energy is threatening the Earth’s climatic stability, it is the sun’s medium term astronomic oscillations which are currently providing the Earth with a degree of climate stability. Astronomic oscillations will probably provide declining degrees of climatic stability on Earth for another few million years, so the Earth’s climate is not under any immediate threat but, eventually, the sun’s long term increase in solar radiation will overwhelm the influence of its medium term oscillations. The astronomic oscillations which change the direction of the Earth’s climate between ice ages and inter-glacials may gradually start pushing the climate between warm periods and hot periods and then between hot periods and extremely hot periods, until the Earth burns up. The factors stabilizing Earth’s the climate have not completely disappeared and will continue to provide a degree of stability but this degree is likely to decline over time and, eventually, the Earth will start burning up.

It is difficult determining whether the Earth’s climate stabilization system is just in terminal decline or has disappeared altogether. Since this system is composed of different elements then the question has to be answered about each of those elements. The Earth will lose its ability to regulate the climate:- when there is no Photosynthesis, when there is no Carbon in the atmosphere, when it is unable to create ice ages. The critical issue seems to be the reduction in atmospheric Carbon. The reduction in atmospheric Carbon will cause the decline of Photosynthesis and this will mean the end of the Earth’s ability to generate ice ages.

3.5: The Paradox of Climate Regulation; the Discovery of the Life and Death of Gaia.

James lovelock conceived of the idea of the Earth as a self regulating planet in the 1970s. By the 1980s this revolutionary new perspective was reaping huge rewards in terms of new scientific hypotheses about the functioning of the Earth’s life support system which, over the years, has led to the discovery of new evidence and new insights. The paradox of the discovery of the Earth’s climate stabilization system is that it came at a time when this system has almost disappeared. The Earth’s regulation of the climate has been discovered when it has virtually lost this regulatory influence. Over the last couple of million years, the Earth has been losing the self-regulating capability it had over the previous couple of aeons. It has certainly lost its primacy in controlling its own climate which is being increasingly influenced by astronomic oscillations. The Earth is managing to combat increasing solar radiation through what is in effect a fluke, the fact that when the climate gets colder, more land appears in the tropics which increases Photosynthesis thereby pushing the Earth further into an ice age. Lovelock’s cutting edge scientific breakthrough is so new and so breath taking and yet, seemingly, so redundant. The implications of this scientific revolution, which provides a new perspective on the Earth, the climate, and life, have barely begun to filter into politics or philosophy before it becomes necessary to develop a post-gaian perspective.

3.6: The Perils of Artificial Constructs.

Virtually all books on global burning begin with the statement that global warming is a natural state of affairs without which global average temperatures would be approximately 33C lower than they are now i.e. approximately -18C. The intention of this comparison is to publicize the fundamental importance of global warming so that humans will take more care of the environment and ensure their survival. What this comparison entails, however, is comparing the Earth’s current climate not to a possible planetary condition but to an entirely imaginary one. No matter what humans might do, no matter what might happen to the Earth, global warming would never disappear so that the Earth ends up freezing like mars. Like other theoretical constructions designed to make a simple point, this comparison gives rise to complications which are misleading and muddle the message. This artificial comparison implies not merely that global warming could disappear and that the Earth’s Biosphere could freeze to death, but that global warming is a good thing in the sense that the warmer the Earth the less likely is it that life on Earth will freeze to death. This slips over easily into the common sense view that it doesn’t matter if humans exacerbate the greenhouse effect because it is better to have excessive concentrations of greenhouse gases keeping the Earth warm than declining concentrations so that we all froze to death. This comparison hooks into the fear fostered by many science fiction films - the cold of outer space. It gives emotional support to the common sense view that humans are better off having a climate that is too hot rather than allowing the cold of outer space to encroach too close to the surface of the Earth. These political implications are the exact opposite of those the designers of the abstract comparison wanted to make.

Climatologists’ artificial comparison not merely gives rise to dangerous political views, it ignores the basic facts about the Earth’s climate e.g. that there has never been a time when global warming hasn’t existed on Earth and that it is highly unlikely there ever will be such a time within the imaginable future. It overlooks the fundamental trends of the Earth’s climate e.g. that over the last few aeons the sun has been getting hotter and that the Earth would have burnt up if Photosynthesis had not cooled the planet. Scientists’ artificial comparison makes it far more difficult to explain the nature of the climate’s current predicament and outline the policies needed - policies which are the exact opposite of those implied by this comparison.

It is imperative to compare the Earth’s current climate not with an artificial, unreal, abstraction but with the Earth’s climate history:

- that since the formation of the Earth, solar radiation has been increasing and that the biggest threat to the survival of life and the Biosphere is not global freezing but global burning;

- that the role of life on Earth has been to cool the planet not to warm it up and certainly not to encourage the planet to warm up because of an entirely non-existent threat that without the greenhouse effect all life would freeze to death;

- that when the Earth first formed, Carbon was so thick in the atmosphere it would have absorbed huge amounts of solar energy and the atmosphere would have been so heavy it would have crushed most of the life forms that later emerged on Earth. The role of life is not pushing Carbon into the atmosphere but extracting it from the atmosphere to keep the planet cool;

- that without life global temperatures would be 240-340C higher than they are now and the Earth would be uninhabitable; and finally,

- that if humans destabilize the climate they will not cause the greenhouse effect to disappear so that the planet lapses into a frozen ball - they will cause the Earth to burn up as it attempts to return to its natural state.

The Earth is naturally more like venus than it is mars. Over the last few aeons, life has ensured the Earth is more like mars than venus. If humans want to stabilize the climate and survive they have to recognize the planet needs to be more like mars than venus. They have to fear venus not mars.

3.7: What is the Role of Life on Earth?

Life, or to be more accurate, Photosynthesis, has prevented the sun from boosting global temperatures, by extracting Carbon from the atmosphere. In so doing it has released oxygen into the atmosphere which has not merely provided a means for new life forms to breathe but, much more fundamentally, retained water on Earth which has meant that the oceans, clouds and ice sheets have helped to lower the Earth’s temperature. The role of life in the history of the Earth has been to reduce global temperatures. It is time that humans started acting in accordance not with nature and the war of all against all, nor in terms of a scientific fabrication inducing a fear of global freezing, but in harmony with life’s aeons-long endeavour of cooling the Earth.

That life has been able to stop the sun’s increasing solar radiation from burning up the Earth is an extraordinary achievement. But then along comes a horde of insufferably arrogant, stupid, eco-nazis without the slightest interest in the planet they live on, without the slightest clue that they live on a living, breathing, planet, and without the slightest understanding of the battles that have been fought over the last three aeons to enable life to flourish on Earth. They are not merely stupid, self-obsessed, and clueless, they resent having to understand anything which might inhibit their greed from devastating the planet.


Source: The Mundi Club - Dragging 'green' politics into the 21st century

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