CO2, Global Warming, and Pollen Allergies

© Copyright 2003 by Thomas Ogren, USA
(Explore Issue: Volume 12, Number 3)

The benefits of added organic matter to the soil have long been known, and are usually attributed to increased nitrogen, greater water-holding capacity and an increase in activity of soil earthworms and microbes. But experiments have shown that the increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) release that accompanies added organic matter is certainly one of the main reasons why adding organic matter to the soil increases plant growth.

Greenhouse owners have long understood that plants consume CO2 and release oxygen. In a greenhouse packed full of plants, through the process of photosynthesis, the plants can quickly use up most of the available CO2, and then their growth slows down or stops. To compensate for this, old-time growers used to place boxes or flats of fresh manure underneath their greenhouse benches. As the manure decomposed it released CO2 into the greenhouse air, and the plants grew faster as a result.

In today’s modern greenhouses, especially those with concrete floors, lack of CO2 is always a concern. Most of the newer greenhouse ranges are now equipped with automatic CO2 regulators that monitor the amount of CO2 in the air inside the greenhouse, and then release more as needed.

In these greenhouses with their gas growth CO2 generators, the plants don’t just grow bigger – they also mature earlier.

So, what has all this to do with global warming and allergies?

As we become more and more reliant on burning petroleum products and as our global temperatures continue to rise, carbon dioxide levels in our air are rising. Before the last election we in the U.S. had assumed, incorrectly, that no matter which candidate won the election, new controls were going to be placed on CO2 emissions.

We know better now.

The U.S. with its huge consumption of fossil fuels, (the U.S. produces nearly 25% of man-made carbon dioxide emissions worldwide). also is experiencing the greatest increase in CO2. Actually, CO2 accounts for 80-85% of the heat trapping (greenhouse) gases contributing to global warming.

The idea that is now called the “Greening Theory” holds that all this extra CO2 is good. It will result in increased plant growth and thus in resulting increases in food supplies. There is some merit to this theory but there are numerous downsides too.