opinion
When global
warming
becomes too hot
BY DR. GEORGE ZULCH
It was 1965 when I was fi rst introduced
to the term “greenhouse effect”
in biology class,as a student at
the Bronx High School of Science. The
term “global warming” had not come
into usage atthat time, at least to my
knowledge, but the implications of this
effect were clear. Onecertainly experiences
it sitting in a car, without air
conditioning. Yet, little did I imagine
that thebuildup of CO2 in the atmosphere,
over time, by combustion of all
sorts would challenge life onearth on
a scale greater than any war or pandemic,
or even all the wars and pandemicscombined
historically.
The balance of gases in the atmosphere
has varied through earth’s history.
Originally,earth’s atmosphere,
supported microscopic life which was
adapted to thrive in an anaerobicenvironment,
consisting of such chemicals
as hydrogen sulfi de, methane
and CO2. Free oxygen,as a gas, was
largely absent when oxygen eventually
was produced by cyanobacterialphotosynthesis
on the order of 2.5 billion
years after earth formed. It would
prove to be toxicto anaerobes and over
time there would evolved bacteria that
could utilize oxygen, eventuallygiving
rise to mostly aerobic forms of life,
which have ever since predominated
at all phylogenicstrata.
Over the periods of earth’s palaeontologic
history, the temperature
and the level ofoxygen and CO2 in the
atmosphere has varied, but generally
slow enough to allow life forms toadapt.
Five times through earth’s history
however, there have been major extinction
events,brought on largely by
sudden and severe changes in earth’s
atmosphere. The most famousone —
but not the worst — being the extinction
of about 75% of all life species, including
thedinosaurs, 66 million years
ago by a large asteroid striking the
earth, off the Yucatan Peninsula.
While the blast killed many life
forms immediately, it is theorized that
through a number ofchanges brought
on in the atmosphere, including molten
rock hurled over vast areas, extremefl
y ash and ultimately changes
in the gaseous balance of the atmosphere
is what let to achanges in temperature
and breakdown of photosynthesis
(destruction of base of food
chain)that fostered much of this dying
off, in the fi rst 10-100 years depending
on what you read. Italso happened to
be “bad luck” that the asteroid struck
an area high in MoS2 (molybdenumdisulfi
de). The sulfur released up into
BRONX TIMES REPORTER, J 12 ULY 23-29, 2021 BTR
the atmosphere combined with oxygen
to form H2 SO4(sulfuric acid), which
further made for a toxic atmosphere.
Green plants are the basis of life as
they produce net oxygen (more than
they utilize)through photosynthesis
and absorb net CO2, to make sugars
and starches, which can becomplexed
with a variety of elements to produce
proteins, fats and vitamins. It is interestingto
note that the hemoglobin of
animal life forms, and the chlorophyll
of plant life forms, arenear identical
molecules, both being polycyclic ring
structures, with two side groups differing.
Most importantly, hemoglobin,
which keeps us alive, has an iron atom
at its center, whereaschlorophyll has
a magnesium atom at its center. I see
this as an integral relation between
theultimate giver of oxygen and the
receiver of oxygen being inextricably
bound up chemically andin so many
other ways, as to sustain life on earth.
Green plants, including the forests
and especially the forests that
circle the northern latitudes of earth
through North America, Europe and
Russia, together with all the other
green2plants produce about 40-45% of
earth’s oxygen, while the phytoplankton
of the oceansproduce more than
50%. Back around 2017, world forestry
collectively lost an area of landabout
equal to the size of Italy. Each year
seems to outdo the next for forestry destruction.
What a horror to think that the Sequoias
and Redwoods, some of which
are 2,000 years old, arenow dying.
Even their deepest roots can no longer
get water as the very great depths
of thewater tables in those locations
have dried up or nearly so. Lake Mead
is turning into a mud pit.
It should stand to reason then, that
if we continue this mad path of burning
and cutting downthe forests of the
earth and killing phytoplankton of the
oceans, through pollution, changes insalinity,
currents and temperatures,
we will continue to lower atmospheric
levels of oxygenupon which our survival
depends, from minute to minute,
as does that of most life forms.
Choral reefs are dying, ocean water
will become more dilute, altering
salinity as thepolar caps melt, not to
mention levels rising, vast oceanic currents
such as the Gulf Stream,which
moderates land climate (including in
our area) have shifted and continue
to do so, andtemperature of the water
are in fl ux. All of this is creating areas
of hypoxia within the oceans,where
nothing can live or thrive. It is my supposition
that such areas of hypoxia are
developingto an ever greater extent in
our atmosphere, independent of what
is happening in many cities.
We cannot keep destroying the
source of oxygen without altering its
atmospheric levels overtime. At what
point will worldwide hypoxia become
such an issue, the people will just begetting
buy, lethargically and without
the energy to carry on all the tasks we
do. Those withheart and respiratory
disease will suffer greatly if they survive
and many of us with other typesof
illnesses will succumb to low ambient
oxygen. No doubt every effort will be
made byindividuals to “tank up” on
concentrated oxygen but that will ultimately
fail. Even those whomanage
to survive for longer times, such as
wealthy people, keeping large reserve
tanks ontheir properties, will eventually
run out and will not be able to
thrive and get around normally.
How will planes stay in sky and our
combustion driven cars run – will they
sputter andstall out? Most of all how
will we thrive and survive?
At the top of Mount Everest, the oxygenlevel
is about 33% of what it is at
ground level and evidently blood oxygen
falls to as lowas 60% at that height,
which if kept up is incompatible with
survival. That is why oxygentanks are
needed for those “mountain climbing.”
Most likely the Sherpas who guide and
outfi tthe visiting hikers, have adapted
over time to the lower oxygen levels at
great heights. It isknown for instance
that the people living in the Andes
and Himalayan regions have adaptedover
time such that their hemoglobin
saturation levels are greater and
how oxygen is releasedand utilized by
the body make them more adaptable to
high-altitude living. There are otherphysiologic
changes as well. But these
are specifi c, unique populations. Most
people of planetearth would not fare
well at constant low oxygen.
It is my belief, that it will not be the
runaway, forest fi res per say, or the
fl ooding, orlarger and more powerful
hurricanes, or even the global heat
itself that will do us in, but thatultimately
it will be some form of worldwide
hypoxia that kills us off as life entity,
a civilization, ahumanity. When I
hear Congress talking about aiming
for 50% reduction or the like byyear
2030 or all the other anemic plans, I realize
that relatively few people see this
as a crisis.
The entire pandemic, as bad as it
was, will just be absorbed into what is
to comeenvironmentally if we do not
take drastic action to meet an everincreasing
severe globaldisaster. Polite,
one-sided legislation just won’t
solve it.
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