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CO2 is plant (and Coral) food

A lot of people are touting that Carbon Dioxide is an evil gas. It is not, it is plant food. We are currently at around 380 Parts per Million. Ice cores have told us that it has been as high as 6,000 PPM. For those that consider it to be toxic to life (in addition to the Global Warming greenhouse gas scare), ask yourselves why people who run hydroponics grow-ops add CO2 to their rooms. Check out the CO2 calculator. From the site:

CO2 is an odorless, invisible, and non-flammable gas. It is also safe for humans in the maximum concentrations recommended for plant growth. The average level of CO2 in the atmosphere is about 300 PPM (parts per million). If the level decreases down below 200 PPM in an enclosed growing area, plant growth slows to a halt. Through the years of testing and research, the optimum enrichment level of CO2 for plant growth has been agreed to be about 1500 PPM. With CO2 enrichment, under good conditions, plant growth rates and flowering will increase 20-100%. CO2 can be used from seedling right through harvest.

Also, the CO2 page from Discount Hydroponics. For people who are concerned about Ocean Acidification, there is nothing to worry about. In fact, aquarists who keep salt-water tanks and who grow coral will add CO2 to their tanks to promote growth and (from the Wikipedia article):

In marine and reef aquariums, a calcium reactor is a device used to create a balance of alkalinity in the system.

Marine and Reef has a nice page on them. All of this leads up to this wonderful two minute time-lapse movie of a Cowpea seedling growing in 450PPM and 1,270PPM CO2: Yes, it really is this simple. CO2 is a greenhouse gas and yes, we have had some influence on the overall warming trend of this planet but no, there is no 'tipping point' -- in fact, our climate regulates itself within a close range with wonderful stability. Yes, there is variation that affects our lives but no, it is not something we need to pump billions of dollars into and if we did, we would have little or no effect on the outcome. We need to sit back and concentrate on the things that matter and over which we can have a real effect -- clean water, reduce pollution, effective Science education for our Elementary and High School students. There is less of a feel-good 'aura' about these and these actually take real work and thought on our parts but these are what needs to be done and done soon. Not some watermelon environmentalist emo view of what a perfect world will be like... And a big tip 'o the hat to Daily Bayonet for the link. Posted by DaveH at April 13, 2010 9:32 PM