The planet has seen dramatic increases & decreases in CO2 levels, so what in the past caused it to drop down?

Question

In the history of the planet we have seen numerous increases and decreases of CO2 gasses and relative increases and decreases in the temp of the earth. But in the past the CO2 levels naturally reduced and the warming trend was followed by a cooling trend. All this happened many times without any help from us. The earth warmed, the ice melted and water levels rose. Then CO2 some how came down, the earth cooled and water levels receeded. So in the past, what caused the CO2 levels to drop? What makes us think it won't happen again?

Answer 1

There have been warming periods in the past but the CO2 levels have gone so far off the charts currently that people need to work together to lower them. Simple things like recycling or installing energy efficent lightbulbs can help.

Answer 2

Mr. Jello, you are as bad as the "Believers". You pick out a very small window to make an argument when this window is a quick wink when looking at global climate change. The earth has been in a long term warming trend for over 17,000 years. When you study the data for this period, there are many short periods when the earth cools or heats much more rapidly than the long term trend average. The globe has been warming up naturally and it started long before man had anything to do with it. That is a fact I believe most must agree with if they believe the data we have showing over 300,000 years from the ice core samples (Vostok data). The data shows the earth has been going through these warming and cooling cycles many, many times. I believe the truth is we do not know exactly what nature will do next. I believe we really do not know just how much man made CO2 will affect the natural warming trend. We may be nearing the end of this latest warming cycle, and may start into a long term cooling trend again (these usually last about 80,000 years) . We may cool a little, then resume the warming trend again ( these last about 20,000 years).

Answer 3

There is no data that says the earth will not once more go into a cooling trend. The whole global warming hoopla is just another way for the tree huggers to get attention. After the whole O zone layer thing was proved to be false, they have to have something to freak out about.

Humans only contribute 1/30th the CO2 that enters the atmosphere. Most CO@ results from the natural break down of dead, decaying foliage and from active Volcanoes. Things that are considered "natural" parts of the earths cycle.

I also find it rather humorous that everyone is really worried about global warming when in many places around the world they are having the coldest winter on record.

Personally I am NOT going to start worrying about Global Warming until people can grow wheat on Ice Land as the Vikings were able to when they first discovered the country.

Answer 4

Plants need CO2 as much as u need oxygen . It is not just trees it is all plants,even algae. The plants are doing a good job in recycling our air. That is one cycle and the other is the plants hold onto the C part which it makes the food for the plants so the more the plant gets of CO2 the bigger it gets. The C is trapped in the leaves and body . then winter comes and the leaves fall off and float down the river to the delta where it deteriorates into gas ,oil,and coal.

Answer 5

Levels are the highest in 650,000 years right now - and that is because of human caused emissions. It will likely go back down, but on a timescale of hundreds/thousands of years.

Also, people just don't seem to understand that its not just Co2/global warming thats a problem. All of these emissions from factories and autos are Pollutions! They are harmful to all life and all ecosystems on Earth! You can debate all you want about whether or not global warming is human caused, but seems to me that no matter what the answer is: all of these pollutions from autos and factories are just plain HORRIBLE!

This article explains the Co2 problem:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines07/0203-03.htm

Answer 6

You are quite correct, and an article in an issue of Nature last fall gave CO2 concentration over time. (It was four times as high during the dinosaur era as it is now.) As a financier once said about the stock market, it will fluctuate. An important feature of the CO2 story is the equilibrium between CO2 in the air and CO2 dissolved in the ocean, there is fifty times as much in the ocean as there is in the air. Reactions between dissolved CO2 and dissolved calcium tend to stabilize the oceanic level, and by transportation, the atmospheric level also. But there is a significant time lag involved, as the deep ocean currents are slow.

Answer 7

In the long run I think you can definitely count on CO2 going down, but that may be on a million year time scale. In the short term I think you can count on it going higher. However I do not think that sea level rise or air temperature increase or weather patterns will get bad enough to cause as much harm to the economy as drastic cuts in fossil fuel use would do. If you think there is no harm in cutting fossil fuel use, you are dreaming. Step 1 in cutting fossil fuel use is to double, or more than double, the price of gas.

Answer 8

Yay, a thoughtful critic with an intelligent argument. But I think it doesn't quite work..

There is a natural "carbon cycle" which operates to crudely stabilize CO2.

We're messing it up. We dig up lots of carbon that the natural cycle buried millions of years ago, and burn it, real fast. The natural cycle is overwhelmed. This data:

http://scrippsco2.ucsd.edu/graphics_gallery/mauna_loa_record/mlo_record.html

paints a good picture. The little teeth are the natural cycle in operation. In the winter the plants are less active and CO2 goes up a little because sources overwhelm sinks. In the summer the opposite happens.

The big upward trend is us, burning fossil fuels.

Could another feedback mechanism kick in and save us? Maybe. But no one knows what it would be. Most scientists think an obvious feedback mechanism will make things worse. Ice melts and reduces the reflectivity of Earth.

So it would not be a good idea for us to wait for Mother Nature to save us from our mischief. But it's still a good question.

Answer 9

Do you know what the biggest sink of CO2 is? its not trees, its the ocean. Aquatic life sucks up more carbon than anyting. Its no suprise when you consider how big the oceans are.
When the earth gradually floods, the oceans will become bigger and the continents smaller, effectively shrinking the source and enlarging the sink CO2

Answer 10

The pure and simple fact that there are no trees to reduce the gas....otherwise it just STAYS there.. Like Venus. Oh I suppose 9 Billion CO2 expelling humans with their factories and cars have nothing to do with it I am sure.....Plus they like to keep chopping down CO2 breathing trees and building their nice new little pretty homes that will be empty lifeless shells in 100 years.