Op-Ed: A Little History

By Dr. Peter Galvin

Today I am taking a break from medical topics. As a physician, I have an extensive background in science. I was a chemistry major in college, and I spent time in a lab researching organolead compounds. I have studied many scientific topics, including geology, atmospheric science, and oceanography. The history of our planet is fascinating. One of the earliest earth-history controversies you will encounter is the “faint young sun paradox.” Early in its life cycle, our sun only emitted about 70% of the energy that it emits today. Therefore, early earth should have been a frozen wasteland, only it wasn’t. The evidence shows that early earth had liquid water and life, albeit primitive life. So why wasn’t the earth a frozen ball? Most experts believe that greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, and ammonia absorbed the meager energy of the sun and kept the planet warm. Conversely, today, CO2 is merely a trace gas in our atmosphere, accounting for about 0.042% of today’s air. Antarctic ice core samples show that eons ago, CO2 levels were over 1000 times higher than today, yet life thrived.

“Climate change” is real, as our climate is constantly changing. For example, the earth cooled during the little ice age, which lasted from about 1300 AD to 1800 AD. After the year 1800, our climate began warming, no thanks to humans. The Industrial Revolution wouldn’t begin for another 30 or so years. At 1800 AD, the level of CO2 has been estimated to have been about 0.028%. So, in 200+ years, the level of CO2 has risen by a bit over 60%, mostly due to the burning of carbon-based materials like wood and fossil fuels. But is this a bad thing? Many experts believe the answer is no. First, our oceans are huge CO2 sinks, absorbing vast amounts of this atmospheric gas. This helps in the formation of sedimentary rock like limestone. Secondly, due to photosynthesis, plants absorb CO2 and release oxygen, which accounts for about 21% of our atmosphere. The more CO2 there is, the greener the earth becomes. This is especially helpful for agriculture, creating greater crop yields.

Many climatologists believe that today our climate is controlled by solar activity and atmospheric water vapor, meaning cloud cover, not by atmospheric gases. Plus, there are natural climate controls. For example, if the oceans warm, evaporation increases, which increases atmospheric water vapor, thereby increasing both clouds and rain, which cools the planet. A glance at the planet’s history shows wide swings of temperature and sea level, which follow a cyclical pattern. It is pure hubris to claim that human activity can alter the planet’s natural climate cycles, although lessening our dependence on fossil fuels, once it becomes technologically feasible and not forced down our throats, will be a good thing.

Finally, a word on the California fire catastrophe. Some are blaming climate change when in fact climate change had no role in this disaster. The Santa Ana winds are a well-known phenomenon, plus much of southern California is a desert. If you slash the fire department’s budget, mismanage the water supply, fail to maintain forests by clearing dead vegetation in an area with a naturally warm, dry climate, and ignore fire-risk warnings, the results will not be good. If you add in overbuilding, it gets worse. We thought Sandy was bad, but this is Sandy on steroids.

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