Gagan Kaul Blog

The inevitable match is now on! As environmentalists continue to raise awareness about increasing global warming, the corporates, who up till now have been rubbishing such claims, have suddenly sat up and started to take notice. The time for “passing the buck” has ended, as rivals join hands to fight a common enemy - global warming. Even though the debate continue to rage about whether global warming is natural or man-made, the fact remains that the temperatures worldwide have risen by more than one degree in the recent past. The match between man and nature has started. It remains to be seen how efficiently nations can manage this crisis.

A lot has been written on the subject of global warming. A recent article in Economist (requires subscription), for example, is particularly noteworthy. The article concerns a recent study conducted by Govindasamy Bala, of the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, in California. The recent study suggests that removing all the trees from the planet might actually make it cooler, whereas adding more trees might well make the planet more warmer. Surprised?? … Read on …

Trees help remove atmospheric carbon dioxide through a process called photosynthesis, whereby they take in carbon dioxide through their leaves and give off oxygen. This helps to cleanse the atmosphere of harmful gases and generate more oxygen - the ether of life. Similarly, water evaporating from the leaves and stems of plants, through a process called transpiration, is responsible for local cooling. Bala’s research suggests, however, that trees are also heating the planet by other means. According to the article:

“The reason for this is that trees affect the world’s temperature by means other than the carbon they sequester. For instance forests, being generally green and bristly things, remain quite a dark shade even after a blizzard. They are certainly darker than grasslands smothered in snow, and thus they can absorb more of the sun’s heat than vegetation which might otherwise cover the same stretch of land. That warms things up.

Dr Bala’s model suggests that complete deforestation would cause an additional 1.3°C temperature rise compared with business as usual, because of the higher carbon-dioxide levels that would result. However, the additional reflectivity of the planet would cause 1.6°C of cooling. A treeless world would thus, as he reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, be 0.3°C cooler than otherwise.“

This is still being discussed from a theoretical perspective. However, the article references examples in Russia and Canada though, where chopping down trees has resulted in local cooling. The debate continues and the occurrence of terms, such as carbon trading and energy efficiency, is becoming more prevalent in the media. All the while, global warming has become a greater concern - so much so, that analysts are suddenly concerned about the future of this planet and the wars that this threat might instigate. There are a plethora of measures and ideas being suggested to counter the impact. The choices we make and the decisions we implement will finally determine the future of this planet in the years to come.