Re:Nasa Happily Reports the Earth Is Greener
by imtringued on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @04:10AM
(#19262024)
The fundamental problem is that humans are not plants. In 100 million years all the CO2 might become coal or oil again but humans won't be there to witness it.
[ Parent
| on HN ]
Re:Nasa Happily Reports the Earth Is Greener
by fooker on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @06:18AM
(#19262505)
No, not again.
Coal came from plants in an era where microbes could not yet decompose plants.
Re:Nasa Happily Reports the Earth Is Greener
by swish_bob on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @09:53AM
(#19263573)
Peat is the first step in forming coal. Peat still forms under the correct conditions, so coal can still be formed.
Conditions might be rarer, but the steps aren't solely reliant on the absence of microbes which now exist.
Re:Nasa Happily Reports the Earth Is Greener
by yostrovs on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @07:39AM
(#19262842)
Don't forget to credit fungi too!
Re:Nasa Happily Reports the Earth Is Greener
by merpnderp on Wednesday February 27, 2019 @09:48AM
(#19263542)
No more coal. Right now the only way carbon is permanently lost from the ecosystem is from ocean crustacean shells being lost to the bottom of the ocean. Interestingly enough, before humans started freeing carbon, the ecosystem was in a period of all time low for available carbon.