Carbon-Capturing Plants by: Miss Dhaliwal

Climate change is the one of the most serious issues faced by the world today. The emission of greenhouse gases from factories, vehicles, and other sources has increased the overall temperature of the planet. The changes in temperature have resulted in extreme weather patterns, droughts, rising sea levels, spread of disease, and mass extinctions. Scientists worldwide are looking for solutions to heal the damage caused by human activity. One such solution involves generating transgenic plants to reduce the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

Concentration of Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide



    Carbon dioxide is one of the most abundant greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. It is released primarily by the combustion of fossil fuels. The acceptable concentration of CO₂ in the atmosphere is 350 parts per million (ppm); however, this upper limit has been exceeded since 1988. In 2013, the concentration of CO₂ exceeded 400 ppm. In an effort to reduce the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere, scientists have proposed the idea of developing carbon-sequestering plants.

Carbon sequestered in soil by trees.

    Plants naturally utilize CO₂ in the process of photosynthesis. Scientists hope to genetically alter plants, such as trees, to take up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it in the soil. The sequestered carbon would increase soil fertility and it would remain in the soil for millennia. As of yet, bioengineered super carbon plants are still in development. Once produced, these plants would be used worldwide to reduce the amount of CO₂ in the atmosphere, thereby alleviating climate change.

    As with all genetically engineered plants, there are concerns that these plants may alter natural ecosystems. Increasing carbon content of soil may have unforeseeable effects on natural wildlife. There are also concerns among conservative individuals who feel that one should not modify nature. However, I believe that these plants would be a tremendous blessing for this planet. If carbon emissions continue at an exponential rate, as they have been doing since the early 1900’s, climate change will cause mass extinction of the human species, as well as other species on this planet. These plants would prevent a major environmental collapse, and would aid in the recovery of this planet.

    How do you think the global population will react once carbon-sequestering plants are planted worldwide?

References:

http://co2now.org/
http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2010-10/aiob-gat092810.php
http://bioscience.oxfordjournals.org/content/60/9/742.full.pdf+html
http://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/0804/0804.1126.pdf
http://www.forestsforever.org/Climate_Crises-Clearcutters_Hop_on_Cap_&_Trade.html

Blog written by Ms. Dhaliwal.