PART TWO: THE ANTHROPOGENIC BOOST TO PHOTOSYNTHESIS.

Part one explored oomans’ destruction of the Earth’s Photosynthetic capacity. Part two explores the ways that oomans are boosting Photosynthesis - whether intentionally or unintentionally. There are eight main ways in which this is happening: firstly, Reforestation; secondly, the irrigation of desert lands; thirdly, the use of fossilized water; fourthly, the use of synthetic fertilizers; fifthly, the cultivation of leguminous crops; sixthly, the dumping of nutrients into the environment; seventhly, Wilderness restoration; and, eighthly, Wilderness reversion i.e. the abandonment of land which is allowed to return to Wilderness.

2.1: Anthropogenic Reforestation.

Right wing commentators dismiss claims about oomans' devastation of Forests. They suggest that, over the last few decades, Forests have been flourishing in many countries - although it has to be suspected that the alleged increases include Tree plantations, Grasslands, golf courses, and leisure complexes built in Forests.[1]

2.1.1: Reforestation Per Country.

Austria.

“About .. 10% of austria’s national energy demands are provided by biomass. Austria is planning on spending £3 billion over the next 15 years to increase their biomass capacity by 50%. It is anticipated that this will create 15,000 permanent jobs and 6000 installation jobs.”[2]

Brutland.

.. “in Britain the total area of forest cover has more than doubled since the beginning of the century.”[3] (Don't celebrate. Forest cover is now 6-7% and absorbs a minuscule 1.4% of the country's Carbon emissions).

China.

“Officials report that total Forest coverage rose from 13% in 1989 to 14% in 1994.”[4]; .. “the government launched major Reforestation efforts in the early fifties, and by the eighties claimed to have reforested more than 130 million hectares - an area the size of peru. Although once heralded as ecological miracles, less than 30% of the new plantings survived. In 1990, according to the government, some 5 million hectares were planted, more than in brazil, india, japan, the united states, and the soviet union combined.”[5] .. “50 million acres deforested in the 30 years after the communist revolution in 1949 alone. Although 38 million ha. have been reforested since 1949, forest cover has still declined at a rate of 0.9% p.a.”[6]; “Last summer, the Chinese government, normally no friend of the Earth, bought into the idea. Floods on the River Yangtze, its largest river, killed 3,000 people, did damage estimated at $20 billion and affected a fifth of the country's population. The State Council issued emergency orders to halt deforestation in the upper reaches of both the Yangtze and the Yellow rivers, and launched a billion-pound reforestation programme. The state timber company said it would slash production and cut its workforce by a million.”[7]

Germany.

“The Black Forest was considered all but dead by the german press and public a dozen years ago. Yet today it is clear .. Not only is the Black Forest marvellously verdant, but - like Forests across most of europe - it is growing faster than ever. Scientists disagree about the health of the german woods. The government’s 1995 report estimates that 22% of the trees show signs of damage, defined as suffering the loss of one-quarter of all needles or leaves. From 1984 to 1994, the federal and state government spent £250 million trying to stabilize the damaged areas. (Heinrich spiecker, director of the institute for Forest growth at the university of freiburg belives the climate may be a key factor). “Cool, wet weather - good conifer growing conditions - from 1950-1970 was followed by a warm, dry spell beginning in the mid-1970s. “The woods reacted badly.” he said, “shedding needles to minimize transpiration. Tree corpses, spindly trunks, and shorn needles littered the forest. But the anticipated calmity never happened. Whereas firs once dominated, spruce trees are now equally common. The recent growth spurt is mystifying. One apparent factor is the gradual end across europe in recent decades of “litter-raking” - farmers scraping up fallen needles, leaves and underbrush to fertilize fields.”[8]; “In the early 1980s acid rain became the favourite cause of doom. Lurid reports appeared of widespread forest decline in germany, where half the Trees were said to be in trouble. By 1986, the united nations reported that 23% of all Trees in europe were moderately or severely damaged by acid rain. What happened. They recovered. The biomass stock of european Forests actually increased during the 1980s. The damage all but disappeared. Forests did not decline: they thrived..[9]; “Where tree cover has expanded, it has been in the form of biologically impoverished plantations. Germany's old-growth forests, for example, used to be mainly deciduous but, now, just one conifer, Norway Spruce, accounts for some 40% of a shrunken forested area, composed mainly of what are little more than tree farms and cellulose factories.”[10]

Japan.

During the second world war the allies managed to reduce japan’s oil supplies to a trickle and this forced the japanese government to log most of the country’s timber to provide alternative fuel. The japanese have not forgotten this lesson. The extensive Tree cover which now exists in japan has more to do with military considerations than it does with a national love of Forests, “Nearly three quarters of Japan’s land shelters beneath forests of pine, cedar and beech.”[11] However, the rest of the country has become a massive construction site.

United States of America.

Gregg easterbrook extols the increase of Forests in the u.s.a, “Today the country has 728 million forest acres, with the total continuing to expand annually. The current total is less than the estimated 950 million wooded acres that existed in precolonial times, but it represents only a 23% overall north american forest reduction from the arrival of europeans to the present - hardly the drastic devastation depicted by environmental orthodoxy.”[12] From easterbrook’s perspective the prospects for Reforestation look even brighter since, “The u.s. department of energy sees the production of energy from biomass as the most important renewable energy option for the next 25 years. The country already has over 9000MW of installed biomass capacity, and is planning on a rapid programme of expansion.”[13] As far as he is concerned even if the u.s. forest service chops down old growth Forests and replaces them with plantations this won’t have any effect on Wildlife or on Carbon storage.

The economist was jubliant that, “A similar gap between perception and reality occurred in the united states. Greens fell over each other to declare the forests of north america acidified and dying. “There is no evidence of a general or unusual decline of Forests in the united states or canada due to acid rain,” concluded a ten year, $700m official study..[14]

United States of Soviet Russia.

“The Soviet Union has 2 million square kilometres more land under forests than in 1960.”[15]; According to Roger Sedjo of the ‘Resources for the Future’, “Forest cover in the former Soviet Union has risen by more than 70 million hectares in 25 years.”[16]

Zimbabwe.

“The (zimbabwe) government has set aside 10,700 square kilometres in northern zimbabwe to form the zambezi valley wilderness complex, an area which boasts the 2,196 square kilometre mana pools national park. .. the dande safari area - the 520 square kilometres set aside for hunting.”[17]

2.1.2: International Comparisons of Reforestation.

The Industrialized Countries.

According to crispin tickell. .. “forest cover is slightly increasing in industrial countries ..”[18]

Europe.

"Tree cover in Europe is increasing for afforestation has exceeded deforestation since 1950."[19]

Europe and Japan.

Christopher flavin has argued, "Surveys show that Europe and Japan are the only parts of the world currently increasing their total forested area."[20] However, having provided some good news for europe and japan he points out some bad news about canada and the united states, “Even in Canada and the United States, forests are shrinking .. And in both North America and the Soviet Union, the clear cutting of virgin Forests not only continues but is subsidized by governments."[21]

Algeria, Saudi Arabia, Israel, South Korea, and Vietnam.

“In different parts of the world, governments are funding major Tree planting schemes. (These include Algeria). Saudi Arabia, too, has initiated major Tree planting projects, and so have Israel and South Korea. (Also in Vietnam).”[22]

The USSR, Sweden, Finland, France, Germany, and Canada.

Edward i newman has stated, “The USSR, which produced more harvested timber than Brazil, reported a modest increase in forested area, and so did the four largest timber producers in Europe: Sweden, Finland, France, and Germany. Canada’s forested area probably increased during the 1980s, too, though figures are unreliable.”[23]

Europe, North America and the former Soviet Union.

“The forests of Europe, North America and the former Soviet Union have expanded so much in the past four decades that they are countering the greenhouse effect, according to a Washington think-tank ‘Resources for the Future’.”[24]

Global Reforestation.

Tony brenton believes the Earth’s Forest cover has remained the same over the last twenty years. He uses evidence compiled by the world resources institute, "Even in the case of Forests, another resource whose destruction has been widely advertised, the evidence is that the overall amount of Tree cover on the Planet has remained roughly constant over the past 20 years, with the destruction of tropical Forests being roughly offset by new growth of temperate Forests in the richer north. Forested areas and national parks have expanded in almost all countries."[25] Brenton spent years in brutland’s diplomatic service - the international public relations’ arm of the brutish government - and is obviously having trouble adopting to the real world.

2.1.3: Carbon Compensation Schemes.

Towards the end of the 1990s, in international fora debating ways of combating global burning, a number of governments and multi-national companies insisted they should be allowed to adopt Carbon compensation schemes i.e. planting Forests to offset their Carbon emissions. “Article 17 (of the kyoto agreement) stipulates that countries may meet their obligations by trading emissions with countries that have legally binding greenhouse gas emissions. Countries which are in credit because their emissions are sufficiently lower than their recorded 1990 levels can sell such credits to other nations, who can then offset their own excesses. The collapse of the soviet union and its economy has led to far less fossil fuel being burnt than in 1990. Two other trading mechanisms from kyoto involve joint implementation, whereby one country invests in another and can claim a carbon rebate for itself if the investment involves a greenhouse gas sink. The other is the clean development mechanism whereby a country helps another to avoid burning more fossil fuels by offering its technology and know how.”[26] A number of schemes have already been implemented.

Mazda/Fulham Football Club/Whole Earth Foods.

“For every Demio car Mazda sells in the year from 1 August, it will pay a company £15 to plant trees to offset the first year's average CO emissions. And it's not the only one. Other companies paying for trees include Fulham Football Club and Whole Earth Foods.”[27]

American and Norwegian Businesses.

“Thanks to a deal struck by the government (of costa rica), american and norwegian businesses are about to pay farmers there to plant forests on their land. The farmers do not even have to produce timber - they just have to let the trees grow. The kyoto protocol allows countries to meet part of their targets by planting forests to soak up CO₂ instead of making cuts.”[28]

The Carbon Storage Trust, SGS Forestry, and Future Forests.

“But a new market is emerging in 'carbon offset', a way of enabling CO₂ producers to neutralise their pollution. CO₂ can be absorbed from the atmosphere into, for example, a growing forest. Three UK organisations are competing for the offset business: the Carbon Storage Trust and SGS Forestry, both based in Oxford, and Future Forests, of Castle Cary, Somerset.”[29]

Netherlands Electricity Generating Board.

“The Dutch ministries of Environment and Agriculture, together with the Netherlands Electricity Generating Board, have agreed to a plan to replant over 25 years some 250,000 hectares of tropical forest burned or cut in Bolivia, Peru, Colombia, Ecuador and Costa Rica. This will compensate for the annual emissions of 6 million tonnes of CO2 from two new coal fired power stations to be built near Amsterdam and Rotterdam.”[30]

2.1.4: Soil Conservation.

It is quite true that life forms in the soil absorb Carbon from the atmosphere and that when soils are disturbed this leads to the release of Carbon into the atmosphere. It is also true to say that if oomans desist from disturbing the soil then they would not disrupt the climate. However, the idea of oomans' earning Carbon credits for doing nothing is absurd - especially so when they can spend such credits on commodities entailing the release of greenhouse gases, “Soils could become as important a ‘sink’ for atmospheric carbon dioxide as forests. A paper by the north american society for water and soil conservation suggests that modern techniques of soil conservation could soak up enough carbon to meet a sixth of american and canadian targets for reducing emissions of greenhouse gases over the next 20 years. The organic carbon in soils accounts for an estimated 3/4 of the carbon stored in ecosystems on land - much more than that in forest timber. Some soil scientists are cautious. The soil conservation methods being proposed here, notably by agribusiness companies such as monsanto, involve the heavy use of pesticides and fertilisers.”[31] The fact that the north american society believes that america and canada would be able to absorb a sixth of their greenhouse gas emissions' targets shows either that the targets are so low that even such a small measure would constitute a major contribution to emissions' reductions or that their estimate of the amount of Carbon that soils can absorb is far too optimistic. It is highly unlikely that soils absorb more Carbon than Forests.

2.1.5: Photo-Techno Schemes.

This section covers various technological schemes for extracting Carbon from the atmosphere. These vary in degrees of zaniness.

2.1.5.1: Synthetic Forests.

One scheme envisages the use of genetic engineering to create superplants to soak up excessive atmospheric Carbon emissions, “Scientists have created a tree which cuts pollution by gobbling car exhaust fumes. They have been genetically engineered by boffins at japanese car firm toyota. Their leaves absorb 30% more carbon dioxide, turning more of the poison gas into oxygen. Pollution has plummeted at a toyota factory in japan where thousands of the eucalyptus and cherry trees have been planted.”[32]

2.1.5.2: Seeding the Oceans.

Some scientists believe that one way of extracting Carbon from the atmosphere is by seeding the oceans with nutrients to boost marine Photosynthesis, “If iron controls the productivity of the oceans and thereby the natural level of atmospheric CO₂ it follows that iron supply to the oceans could affect global temperatures through the heat trapping properties of CO₂. Iron in the surface ocean comes mostly from dust in the atmosphere, soaked up from deserts or other arid regions, “The rich waters off the coast of chile could soon be producing even more plankton. In a bid to curb global warming, the chilean government is considering a proposal by an australian oceanographer and a japanese engineering company to fertilise the sea with nitrogen.”[33]; "Results of a large-scale experiment in the Southern Ocean that surrounds Antarctica reported in Nature1-3 hint that we could engineer the world's oceans to be immense sponges for carbon dioxide, widely considered the main culprit for rising global temperatures. But the realities of this sort of 'geoengineering' are subtle, and potentially perilous. The Southern Ocean Iron Release Experiment (SOIREE), an international collaboration, was conducted last year. Researchers released over eight and a half thousand kilograms of an iron compound into the Southern Ocean within an area 8 kilometres across and monitored its effect on the growth of phytoplankton, microscopic marine plants commonly called the 'grass of the sea'. But would it work? In 1993, a team of scientists conducted an experiment similar to SOIREE in the equatorial Pacific Ocean4. And indeed the phytoplankton 'bloomed' in response to hundreds of kilograms of an iron compound. Yet there is no guarantee that the different oceans of the world will behave in the same way, since their patterns of circulation and mixtures of species and nutrients are different. This is why the SOIREE team wanted to test the hypothesis in the Southern Ocean.”[34]

2.2: The Increase in Agricultural Productivity brought about by Irrigation.

2.2.1: The Irrigation of Arid or Desert Lands.

It is undoubtedly true that there has been a huge increase in agricultural productivity as a result of irrigation. However, if the land on which irrigation is being practiced was previously Forested then the increase in agricultural productivity is irrelevant to the extent that Forests carry out far more Photosynthesis than the growing of crops. Section 1.8.6 looked at the reduction in Photosynthesis brought about by irrigation schemes on previously Forested land since irrigation schemes cannot produce anything like the same amount of Photosynthesis as Forests. However, irrigation schemes in deserts or in arid areas cause a boost to the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity. If all irrigation schemes had been established in arid/semi-arid areas this would have meant a considerable increase in the Earth’s Photosynthetic capacity - quite possibly partly compensating for the deforestation carried out around the world. Unfortunately, it is simply the scale of irrigation schemes on arid/semi-arid lands is not known.

This section is concerned with the Photosynthesis generated by irrigation schemes in arid areas using surface water - a later section will look at irrigation using fossilized water.

2.2.2: The Scale of Irrigation.

"In 1800 about 20 million acres were irrigated;

in 1900 100 million,

in 1950 300 million, and,

in 1980 about 500 million.

In total about 15% of the world's arable land is irrigated, with the highest proportion in Asia."[35]; "Three quarters of the water put into service by humans today goes to irrigate crops. Today, irrigated fields cover approaching 3 million square kilometres of the planet, mostly in the dry Middle East and the monsoon lands of Asia. Irrigation reaches 18% of all the fields in the world. And more than a third of the global harvest is grown on those fields."[36]; "Irrigated areas climbed to an estimated 244 million hectares in 1991, the latest year for which global figures are available."[37]; “Of the world’s irrigated surface area, two-thirds dates from after 1950. With the aid of large dams, water pipelines, and high power pumps, modern projects have interfered with landscapes and natural water systems on a scale unimaginable in previous centuries.”[38]

2.3: The Increase in Agricultural Productivity brought about by the use of Fossilized Water.

Oomans are mining large quantities of fossilized water. Most of this is used to boost crop productivity. Large amounts of this water is used in irrigation schemes in arid areas giving an anthropogenic boost to global Photosynthesis. Fossilized water is also used in irrigation schemes in non-arid areas but if these areas were formerly Forested they cannot produce the same amount of Photosynthesis as Forests.

Around the Earth tens of millions of wells have been sunk to extract underground water. To give but one example of the scale of this phenomenon, “For the past two decades, water from a million or more wells sunk into the alluvium of the ganges delta by agencies such as unicef, the world bank and britain’s overseas development administration ...”[39] This water enables Photosynthesis to take place in areas where it would not otherwise survive and thus boosts global Photosynthesis.

2.4: The Increase in Agricultural Productivity brought about by the use of Synthetic Fertilisers.

There has been a huge increase in crop productivity as a result of the use of synthetic fertilizers obtained from fossil fuels. A significant proportion of synthetic fertilizers seeps into the general environment where its contribution to Photosynthesis is much more complicated. The impact of such inadvertent, and unwanted, fertilization is explored in section 2.6: 'The Increase in Photosynthesis brought about by the Release of Nutrients into the Environment - the Inadvertent Boost to Global Photosynthesis'.

Since the second world war there has been a vast increase in the use of synthetic fertilizers .. “four billion pounds of fertilizer are spread or sprayed onto farmers’ fields each year in the u.s. The figures are higher for western europe.”[40]; “The principal form of anthropogenic nitrogen, accounting for some 60 per cent of the total, is inorganic nitrogen fertilizer. Global fertilizer use soared from less than 14 million tonnes in 1950 to 145 million tonnes in 1988; by 1996 it had fallen back to about 135 million tonnes (FAOSTAT 1997). Consumption is now stable or declining in the industrialized countries but demand is still rising in the developing world. The major driving force is increasing food production, driven in turn by increasing human population and the growing demand for livestock products, particularly in developing countries.”[41]

2.5: The Increase in Agricultural Productivity brought about by the Cultivation of Leguminous Crops.

Oomans are also boosting agricultural productivity by planting leguminous crops which add fertility to the soil. It has been stated .. “legumes, the second largest family of flowering plant including peas, beans, clover and alfalfa. Legumes have a symbiotic relationship with Rhizobium bacterium which ‘fixes’ nitrogen from the atmosphere into a form the plant can use.”[42] .. “the cultivation of crops such as legumes, which contain symbiotic bacteria that can fix nitrogen.”[43]  This has had a considerable impact on the amount of nitrogen in the environment, "The cultivation of leguminous crops such as soybeans, peas and alfalfa accounts for about 25 per cent of anthropogenic nitrogen, and fossil fuel burning for about 12 per cent (Vitousek and others 1997). Other sources include biomass burning, draining wetlands (resulting in the release of organic nitrogen in the soil) and conversion of woodland to cropland.”[44]

2.6: The Increase in Photosynthesis brought about by the Dumping of Nutrients into the Environment - the Inadvertent Boost to Global Photosynthesis.

Oomans are dumping into the environment, both accidentally and deliberately, huge quantities of nutrients - Carbon, nitrogen, phosphorous, ammonia, water, silicon, etc. These nutrients either diffuse into the environment or are concentrated into particular areas where they cause an explosion of Photosynthesis. This section looks at the various nutrients being dumped into the environment and their impact on global Photosynthesis.

2.6.1: Fossil Fuels.

2.6.1.1: Nutrients from the Burning of Fossil Fuels.

Oomans are burning vast quantities of fossil fuels releasing many pollutants. However, it is also releasing many nutrients which are boosting Photosynthesis. This phenomenon is known as the fertilization effect and is explored in part four.

2.6.1.2: Synthetic Fertilisers permeating into the Environment.

Some fossil fuels are converted into synthetic fertilizers in order to boost agricultural productivity. However, some fertilizers permeate into the environment without contributing to crop productivity, “Typically, less than half of the nitrogen applied is taken up by plants - the rest is lost to the air, dissolved in surface waters or absorbed into groundwater.”[45]; .. "around 175 million tons of nitrogen flow into the world’s croplands every year, and about half of this total becomes incorporated into cultivated plants.”[46]  

2.6.1.3: Domestic and Industrial Detergents.

In the over-industrialized world, fossil fuels are also used to make washing up liquids, washing powders, cleaning agents, etc. Many of these products contain phosphorus and other nutrients which boost Photosynthetic growth.

2.6.1.4: Atmospheric Pollution.

“In parts of the northern hemisphere with reasonable amounts of heavy industry it is calculated that pollution accounts for an average of an extra 50kg of nitrogen per hectare (45 il/acre) per year.”[47]

2.6.1.5: The Quantity of Carbon Likely to be Dumped into the Atmosphere over the next few Decades.

One commentator has estimated the quantity of fossil fuels likely to be mined/extracted over the next few decades - much of which will eventually be dumped into the environment, “Colin Campbell .. gave a sobering view of declining cheap oil reserves and declining discovery rates. Of the 1,620 bn barrels so far discovered, 784bn barrels have been consumed leaving 836bn remaining in known oilfields. Campbell estimates that there may be some 180bn barrels yet to be discovered in new fields, resulting in a probable 1,016bn barrels remaining to be produced. At the present annual rate of production of 23bn barrels, the remainder represents some 44 years of production of cheap oil. The discovery rate of new oil peaked many years ago in the 60s and is now only about a quarter of the present annual rate of production, at 6bn barrels a year. Assuming that world demand for energy continues to grow in the first half of the century at a 2% traditional rate, renewables will be required to fill the growing gap between what fossil fuels can supply and as the energy demand increases .. By the middle of the century, the primary energy supplied by renewables could be 50% of the total.”[48] Jeremy leggett has stated, “Together, proven and undiscovered oil reserves in the former soviet union approach 200 billion barrels. This is almost a third of all the oil ever burnt, globally, since the stuff was discovered more than a century ago.”[49]

2.6.2: The Unearthing of Nutrients by the Mining, Extraction, Dredging, and Construction, Industries.

The mining, extraction, dredging, and construction, industries, are disturbing vast amounts of soil, subsoil, and rock layers, thereby unearthing yet more nutrients. The dredging of rivers or coastal water stirs-up nutrients buried in the seabed, “The ecological effects of dredging are various. .. the large quantities of upended silt generated can physically smother plants and animals that live on the river and estuary beds; reduce Photosynthesis through the effects of turbidity; and lead to eutrophication by releasing large quantities of nutrients.”[50]

2.6.3: The Dumping of Ooman Manure.

2.6.3.1: The Vast Increase in Ooman Manure.

Over the last few decades, the ooman population explosion has resulted in a correspondingly vast explosion in the production of ooman manure. During the industrial revolution, the more technologically advanced that societies became, the more people seemed to despise their manure and wanted it removed as far away as possible. This often meant pumping it a couple of miles out to sea through pipes running along the sea floor. At present, whilst the over-industrialized nations treat a significant proportion of their sewage before dumping it into the environment, most other countries around the world do not treat their sewage at all. In the european community the dumping of sewage into rivers and coastal waters is being stopped. In europe, manure has to be applied to the land or incinerated. However, in some european countries the ooman population has expanded so much it is impossible to recycle all of this material - especially when there are vast amounts of livestock manure that also have to be recycled. This is why incineration is increasingly being used to solve this problem.

Brazil.

“90% of Brazil's sewage is discharged untreated.”[51]

Brutland.

“300 million gallons of sewage are dumped into British coastal waters each day.”[52]

Europe and North America.

“In europe and north america, between one and two-thirds of sludge - the biosolids from sewers - is now spread on farmland. In the u.s, france, germany, and elsewhere, all sludge is treated before being used as fertilizer. It undergoes various forms of heating, drying, fermentation or other treatments that kill germs - to varying degrees - and make sludge more chemically stable. Britain alone allows farmers to put raw sewage on their land, though pressure from food retailers is likely to put a stop to this by 2002. About a quarter of all sewage sludge spread on british farmland this year was raw .. The water companies .. say farmers must wait three weeks before harvesting fodder or letting animals graze on sludged land, and ten months before harvesting crops that touch the soil and are ‘normally eaten raw’ - strawberries for example. If the food industry won’t buy crops fertilised with raw sludge, farmers won’t use sludge. And many water companies are counting on farmers as other disposal routes start to close down. A report on sewage by britan’s royal commission on environmental pollution in 1996, and the commons enquiry this year, both .. called for all sludge used in agriculture to be pasteurized, which involves heating at 70C for an hour. Sewage is a valuable resource. Oecd citizens excrete enough to replace 8% of their current consumption of chemical fertiliser - which is made using fossil fuel. Only by keeping faeces separate from the rest of our waste can we realize its full potential.”[53]

India.

“Some sixty million litres of untreated sewage are disgorged into its murky waters (The Ganges) a day.”[54]; “In India, the equivalent of 667,000 road-tanker loads of industrial effluent annually enter the Yamma River at Delhi.”[55]

United States of America.

.. “East 106 (was) a government-sanctioned sludge disposal site 106 miles east of cape may, new jersey. Ocean dumping of sewage by the u.s. .. ended in june 1992.”[56]

General.

“As of 1992 all sewage generated in the u.s. is treated before discharge, usually in facilities that bring the water to a standard safe for swimming. In western europe only 72% of sewage is treated. In mediterranean countries 30% is treated, in the caribbean 10%, and in the rest of the world, including the former soviet bloc, about 2%.”[57]

Global.

Paul brown estimates that, “About 95% of the world’s sewage is poured straight into rivers and other waterflows ...”[58]; “Our waste (manure) is even more impressive. The total flow of our waste equals at least 250 trillion pounds, of which only about 5% is recycled. Paul hawken notes that we are far better at making waste than at making products. For every 100pounds of product we manufacture in the u.s. we create at least 3,200 pounds of waste.”[59]

2.6.3.2: The Nutrients contained in Sewage Sludge.

Phosphates & Nitrates.

“Sewage sludge contains copious levels of phosphate, some 60% from human urine and some 30% from the detergents that go down the sink. It also contains nitrates which, when combined with those from agriculture and those which are stripped from the water supply by our water companies to be dumped back in the river, raise the nutrient levels in the sea.”[60]

Nitrogen.

“Human activity has doubled the amount of ‘fixed’ nitrogen circulating the Planet’s ecosystems .. All organisms require nitrogen to live. But .. organisms cannot use atmospheric nitrogen until it has been ‘fixed’ by bonding with hydrogen or oxygen to form ammonium compounds or nitrates. Lightning and certain bacteria together fix up to 150 million tonnes of nitrogen a year. Now humans have doubled the global supply of fixed nitrogen ...”[61]

2.6.4: The Dumping of Livestock Manure.

Over the last few decades in the over-industrialized world, the intensive rearing of livestock Animals has increased explosively and this has lead to a further explosion in the production of manure. The more intensive the livestock production system, the greater the quantities of manure produced.

2.6.4.1: Spraying Manure onto Fields.

In the united states the only commonly used method for disposing of livestock manure involves storage and then spraying onto fields. Somewhat surprisingly, given the vast quantities of manure produced, livestock factories are not required to build sewage treatment facilities even though they might produce more manure than a town of 250,000 bipeds.

Storing manure in lagoons allows solid products to settle. Pharmers reduce the level of the lagoons by periodically spraying the liquid component onto fields set aside for crops good at absorbing such nutrients. The more intensive the livestock production system, the greater the amount of land needed for this purpose. However, the larger the size of the livestock production system the more difficult it is for all the manure to be absorbed within the local vicinity. A recently proposed 500,000 Sow complex in france required cropland covering a massive 30,000 acres. The need for land to absorb manure increases the costs of livestock pharming so pharmers, mostly contract pharmers in intense competition with other each other, face a temptation to cut corners.

2.6.4.2: Overflowing/Leaking Lagoons Poison Waterways, the Water Supply System, Water Tables, and Rivers.

If the lagoons storing livestock manure leak or overflow, the manure gets into water courses either directly or indirectly by leeching through the soil. It then pollutes the water supply system, water tables, ponds, and rivers.

2.6.4.3: Overspraying of Manure Poisons Waterways, the Water Supply System, Water Tables, and Rivers.

If too much manure is sprayed onto the land it can leech through the soil and end up in the water supply system.

2.6.4.4: Comparisons between the Amounts of Manure Produced by Different Types of Livestock.

General.

In per capita terms Pigs produce more manure than any other livestock, “Hogs excrete at a prodigious rate.

A ton of Chickens, for example, will generate 9 tons of waste a year;

beef Cattle 17 tons,

dairy Cows 24 tons,

and Pigs 32 tons..”[62]

Fish pharming also produces substantial quantities of manure.[63]

Oomans and Fish.

“British fish farms produce the same amount of sewage as between 2.7 and 6.75 million people .. or a conurbation between Manchester and London in size."[64]

2.6.4.5: Total Quantities of Manure Produced per Country.

Brutland.

"Each year in the UK, farm animals produce about 200 million tonnes of effluent."[65]

Germany.

“In Germany, more than three tonnes of liquid manure is produced for every one of its 70 million citizens.”[66]

Holland.

"The dutch government requires farmers to keep detailed manure accounts, recording how much waste their Animals generate and how they dispose of it. The country has built a network of manure banks for storing excess waste."[67]

United States of America.

“The estimate (of manure) for the US herd alone is 115,420 kilograms a second.”[68]

General.

"The EC now terms the netherlands, belgium and france "manure surplus" regions; they produce more manure than their land can absorb."[69]

2.6.4.6: The Main Nutrients in Livestock Manure.

This is virtually the same as for oomans.

Nitrogen and Phosphorous.

The main nutrients in manure are various compounds of nitrogen and phosphorous.

Organic and Mineral Nitrogen.

Manure contains two types of nitrogen, “The nitrogen in slurry occurs as organic or mineral nitrogen. Both occur in equal proportions. The organic nitrogen, or the slowly available form, is contained in partially digested food complexes. It requires further microbial degradation before the nitrogen it contains can be absorbed by the Plant roots. It has been estimated that 50% of organic nitrogen in slurry is mineralized (or becomes available to the Plants) in the year of application. The second form of nitrogen in slurry is the mineral nitrogen. Mineral nitrogen is almost 100% ammonium nitrogen and derives from the hydrolysis of the urea in the urine of the animals. Mineral nitrogen from slurry once in the soil can be absorbed and utilized by growing Plants.”[70]

2.6.4.7: Dumping or Burning.

In many industrialized countries livestock manure is dumped at sea or burnt in ‘waste to energy’ incinerators.

2.6.5: Pharmyard Silage.

After harvesting, straw is stored to provide winter feed for slave Animals. During storage, the straw ferments producing a liquid which is rich in nitrogenous and phosphorous materials. Silage is reckoned to be over 300 times stronger than raw sewage.[71] It cannot be dumped into waterways because it causes so much damage - but it often leaks from containers.

2.6.6: Non Fossil Fuel Pollution.

Oomans use not only fossil fuels but a wide range of other chemicals and minerals. Some of these are also nutrients that boost Photosynthesis when dumped into the environment.

2.6.7: Draining Wetlands.

It has been pointed out that .. “humans have further added to the amount of nitrogen being circulated by .. draining wetlands .. all of which speed up the recycling of fixed nitrogen stored in soil and vegetation.”[72]

2.6.8: Burning Forests.

Oomans are burning large areas of the Earth’s Forests. This is releasing vast quantities of nutrients into the atmosphere. These nutrients either stimulate terrestrial Phytomass or end up in the oceans and stimulate marine Photosynthesis. 

2.6.9: Soil Erosion.

The scale of soil erosion has been highlighted earlier - see section 1.8.5: Wind/Water Erosion of the Soil. Around the world huge quantities of nutrient-rich Topsoil are being dumped into the environment by wind or water erosion.

2.6.9.1: Wind Erosion.

Wind erosion leads to huge quantities of soil being moved from one area to another - in some cases the soil is blown thousands of miles around the Earth.

The Sahel.

“Since the start of the drought in the sahel in the late 1960s there have been many observations of huge dust clouds streaming out across the tropical atlantic each summer to north and central america.”[73]

China.

“On April 18, scientists at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) laboratory in Boulder, Colorado, reported that a huge dust storm from northern China had reached the United States "blanketing areas from Canada to Arizona with a layer of dust.”[74]

General.

Dust .. “storms have always been a feature of desert climates, but there is evidence that they are happening more often, partially because of human activities. This trend has wide-ranging implications, and not just for the inhabitants of drylands. Airborne desert dust affects the planet’s radiation budget, that is, the balance of warming and cooling processes that act together to keep the planet at a stable temperature. Particles reach the air from numerous different sources. These include sea salt, soil dust, volcanic dust, smoke particles from fires and even cosmic dust from outside the Earth’s atmosphere. A strong wind can blow soil dust from any dry, sparsely vegetated surface, but the main sources are in arid and semi-arid regions where these conditions prevail for much of the year. The world’s drylands are thought to produce more than a billion tons of dust every year. Most comes from the wide expanses across the middle east to the deserts of asia. Soil dust does not remain in the air for very long, usually for a maximum of a week, unlike volcanic dust which can stay in the atmosphere for several years because it reaches higher altitudes. Volcanic dust can reach the stratosphere, but desert dust almost never does. As researchers have recognized the contribution of desert dust to climate change so they have realized that up to half the volume of atmospheric desert dust is attributable to human activities. Dust deposition also has benefits, however. Since many dusts are nutrient rich, their contribution is important to ecosystems, particularly in the oceans but also on land. Saharan dust contributes key nutrients to the Amazon rainforest.”[75]

2.6.9.2: Water Erosion.

Water erosion leads to nutrients being washed into streams, rivers, and eventually, seas, “Agriculture and land use changes wrought by humans are estimated to have increased sediment loads of rivers by about a factor of two worldwide.”[76]

2.6.10: Pesticides.

Pesticides are used to stop so-called 'pests' from taking food destined for oomans. However, the use of pesticides to kill "pests" leads to adverse consequences. It has been discovered that there is an explosion in the growth of algae when pesticides kill zooplankton, “Algal blooms, the bane of polluted lakes, have been blamed mostly on phosphates and nitrates in washing-up powders and fertilisers. But a new dutch study claims that pesticides, as well as nutrients, may be a key factor. It also suggests that the standard international method for testing the ecological toxicity of pesticides is flawed. In 1985, the dutch government decreed that levels of phosphate in freshwater should be halved by 1995. It met the target, but the green scum was largely unaffected. Algae levels are controlled by the tiny zooplankton that eat them, robert jak says. When there are fewer zooplankton, the algae can flourish on lower levels of nutrients. Jak found that zooplankton die in large numbers even at the relatively low concentrations of pesticides commonly found in dutch lakes. His findings suggest that the standard way of testing the environmental toxicity of a pesticide, as approved by the oecd, is ineffective. Before they can market a new product, manufacturers must prove that it is not too toxic to the water flea, Daphnia magna. Byt jak says this species, although easy to use in the laboratory, is unusually resistant to environmental change because it lives in small bodies of water such as ponds, which experience rapid shifts in salinity, pH and other conditions. Zooplankton from large lakes, on the other hand, face fewer changes and are thus much more sensitive to stresses. Jak found that natural populations of zooplankton from lake ijsselmeer were killed by pesticides that had little effect on daphinia.magna. He warns that many of the pesticides on the market may be more ecologically damaging than had been suspected.”[77]

2.6.11: The Furring of the Water Supply System.

Nitrates .. “are stripped from the water supply by our water companies to be dumped back in the river, raise the nutrient levels in the sea.”[78]

2.6.12: De-icing Roads.

"Highway de-icing programs are notorious sources of saline pollution. Drainage of salt-laden water from roads into aquatic ecosystems may stimulate growth of blue-green algae."[79]

2.6.13: The Overall Boost to Global Photosynthesis caused by the Dumping of Nutrients into the Environment - the Fertilization Effect.

The boost to global Photosynthesis brought about by the inadvertent dumping of nutrients into the environment is called the 'fertilization effect'. This section attempts to summarize this effect.

2.6.13.1: Introduction.

The burning of fossil fuels, the manufacture of synthetic fertilizers and washing powders, the growing of leguminous crops, and the production of vast quantities of livestock manure (both biped and quadraped), is leading to the accumulation of huge amounts of nitrogen into the environment, “The huge increase in nitrogen loading of the environment has had a number of consequences. There has been a large rise in the nitrogen levels of drinking water supplies, resulting mainly from agricultural run-off and wastewater. In some major rivers of the northeastern United States, for example, nitrate concentrations have risen up to tenfold since the beginning of the century, necessitating costly purification systems to protect human health (Carpenter and others 1998). Globally, human activities have increased the amount of riverine transport of dissolved inorganic nitrogen by a factor of 2-4 (Seitzinger and Kroeze 1998).”[80]

2.6.13.2: The Boost to Forests.

There are a number of estimates .. “there is increasing evidence of a CO₂ ‘fertilisation effect’. Many Forests, especially outside the tropics, may now be net absorbers of CO₂ because the rising concentrations of CO₂ in the air encourage them to grow faster.”[81]; “Leaving aside the effects of acid rain on Trees there is evidence that they gain benefits from pollution in their growth rates. This could be the extra Carbon dioxide but it could also be the extra nitrogen from fossil fuel burning. In parts of the northern hemisphere with reasonable amounts of heavy industry it is calculated that pollution accounts for an average of an extra 50kg of nitrogen per hectare (45 il/acre) per year.”[82] Nitric acid rain helps to boost the fertility of the soil, “In the air, nitric oxide (NO) combines rapidly with free oxygen to form nitrogen dioxide (NO₂), some molecules of which link together to form N₂O₄, and the mixture of NO₂ and N₂O₄ dissolves in water to become nitric acid (HNO₃). As nitric acid it is washed to the surface. In the soil it reacts to form nitrates, especially with potassium to form saltpetre (KNO₃) or (more commonly) with sodium to form Chile saltpetre (NaNO₃).”[83]

2.6.13.3: The Boost to Grasslands.

No estimates.

2.6.13.4: The Boost to Fresh Water Vegetation.

Lake Victoria

Lake victoria .. “is being choked by water hyacinths, which has clogged lakeshore ports and destroyed a vital fishing industry. Biologists had pinned their hopes on introducing weevils to attack the plants, but over the past two years the insects have made little or no impact on the beautiful weed. Now uganda’s fisheries department wants to blitz the plant with chemicals. Water hyacinths first invaded the world’s largest tropical lake almost a decade ago, and now covers more than 10,000 hectares. European biologists first found water hyacinths in the sao francisco river in eastern brazil. They admired its big flowers and dark, leathery leaves and planted it in botanical gardens around the world. It is according to paul woomer, “one of the fastest growing and most aggressive plants on Earth.” An infestation typically doubles in size within a fortnight. It produces large numbers of seeds that can survive in soils and lake sediments for up to 15 years. This fecund colonist has spread to 53 countries .. blocking waterways, destroying fisheries and harbouring diseases. Only europe has escaped. Its spread in africa in the past decade has been especially aggressive. Almost no large water body remains untouched. The weed entered lake victoria in 1989 after migrating from the headwaters of the zaire river. It came via the river kagera in rwanda, the same river that five years later bore into the lake the bodies of 40,000 victims of that country’s genocide. For nine years now, the kagera has carried into the lake a constant stream of hyacinth clumps - enough to cover about three hectares a day. As well as destroying fisheries it has damaged bridges and clogged hydroelectric turbines, power station cooling systems and water supply inlets. The hyacinth thrives on sewage from cities such as kampala and kisumu, effluent from sugar factories, paper mills, tannieries and breweries springing up across the lake basin, and silt washing into the lake as the catchment’s forests are chopped down and converted to fields. (The lake) has no oxygen in its bottom layers.”[84] (It might have destroyed the fishing industry but it would have provided plenty of cover for the Fish).

2.6.13.5: The Boost to Algal Blooms.

The dumping of colossal quantities of nutrients into the environment is resulting in an explosion of Algal blooms around the world - although primarily in the over-industrialized world. Different chemicals stimulate the growth of different types of Algae, "In clean water, both in lakes and the sea, chemicals such as nitrogen, phosphorus and silica are quickly absorbed by free floating Plants called Algae. One gramme of nitrogen forms 10 grammes of Algae; one gramme of phosphorus forms 80 grammes of Algae. When conditions are right for growth, one group of greens, the Diatoms explode into action. They form a lush crop which provides food for tiny animal Plankton which are the second link in the food chain leading to Otters, Whales and humans. The key to establishing this balanced community is silica. If the supply is used up before other nutrients then Algae cannot multiply. When there is more phosphorus and nitrogen the trouble makers, the blue-greens, take over. Blue-greens don't need silica. They can even manage without nitrogen."[85] Whether this makes up for the destruction which oomans are inflicting on Photosynthesizing micro-organisms is not known. However, as will be seen in part three, the boost in Algal blooms does not lead to a permanent increase in the Earth's Photosynthetic capacity.

Western Europe.

Marine Algae release a gas called dimethyl sulphide. The over-industrialized world has been dumping such huge quantities of nutrients into the seas that emissions of dimethyl sulphide from anthropogenically induced Algal blooms now rivals the release of this gas from industry .. “the emission of this gas from phytoplankton blooms at the surface of the oceans around western Europe is large enough to be comparable with the total emissions of sulphur from industry in this region.”[86]

Central North Atlantic.

Coccolithophores are marine Algae which create shells of calcium Carbonate. In recent years there have been huge Algal blooms, “Satellite photographs and research ships reveal that the number of Coccolithophorids has increased dramatically. Vast clouds of them have been seen in the central north atlantic.”[87]; “Coccolithophores which form huge blooms covering areas up to 500,000 square kilometres in the relatively nutrient poor open oceans, produce about a hundred times as much dimethyl sulphide as some other algae - such as diatoms, which thrive on the continental shelves but produce very little dimethyl sulphide.”[88] Although there is no evidence that oomans are responsible for these blooms it is inconceivable they have not played a part.

The Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Chesapeake Bay.

"There is compelling evidence that nutrient enrichment is at least partly to blame for damage to estuaries and coastal seas, and some of the decline in coastal fisheries production. In brackish water, nitrogen is usually the limiting nutrient for algal activity and plant growth. River discharges laden with nitrogen-rich sewage and fertilizer run-off therefore tend to stimulate algal blooms, which can lead to oxygen starvation in coastal waters at lower depths. This has caused significant fish kills in the Baltic Sea, Black Sea and Chesapeake Bay (Vitousek and others 1997). Biodiversity can also be reduced as 'nuisance' algae come to dominate marine ecosystems. The world's oceans are being plagued by a rising incidence of algal blooms - known as brown or red tides (see box on page 151).”[89]

Anthropogenic Algae.

This section highlights the way that a Plant bred for use in domestic aquaria, has escaped into the wild where it has been growing rapidly - just as was noted above for water hyacinths, "Scientists in the united states are battling to contain a virulent and noxious species of algae that has already destroyed tens of thousands of acres of seabed in the mediterranean and has suddenly surfaced in california. It is believed that the outbreak in california may have been caused by someone dumping the water from their private aquarium into a storm drain. The algae were originally developed by biologists in germany at the stuttgart zoo aquarium because they made a luxurious green bed for display tanks. At risk are marine plant life and creatures on the seabed as the algae kill seaweed, coral, clams, and shrimps, "It is a very serious potential problem" said bob hoffman of the national marine fisheries service in san diego yesterday. "It could have a dramatic impact. There is not yet an established method of controlling it." The rich dark-green algae, caulerpa taxifolia, were discovered in the agua hedionda lagoon 35 miles north of san diego. Although the algae have been banned for sale in the us by an executive order from bill clinton, they can be bought through the internet and are popular with aquarium owners."[90]

The americans have managed to contain the spread of this Algae. The europeans, who are far less concerned about the environment than americans, have only recently discovered that the plant has infested a large area of the mediterranean, “In 1984, the oceanographic museum in monaco cleaned its tanks and dumped the water in the mediterranean. It contained a vigorous, toxic seaweed .. Now the weed covers 4000 hectares of the mediterranean coast.”[91]

A horizon documentary explained what happened. In 1988 alexandre meinesz, a french botanist, went sea diving in monaco and found large areas of bright green seaweed growing on the sea bed. It formed a dense and brilliantly coloured green mat. It was a new plant to the area, probably tropical in origin, but how could it stand the cold of the mediterranean? “The plant was bigger, tougher and more vigorous than any other specimen of calepa toxifolia. “It was growing so fast and densely it was swamping the dark green posedonia. The problem was that the seaweed is toxic to most Fish species so when it takes over an area the biodiversity rapidly goes into decline. Calepa toxifolia is .. “not just any invasive plant but an exceptionally harmful and vigorous organism. As the algae continued to spread, growing at twice the speed of ordinary plants.”

The colony of algae that was found “lay directly under the walls of one of europe’s most prestiguous marine research and conservation organizations, the monaco oceanographic museum.” The director of the museum believed the plant has been present in the mediterranean for millenia and that the warmer water was giving it the opportunity to flourish. Plants can lay dormant for decades, centuries or even millenia. By 1991 the algae had spread to four different locations along the northern coast of the med. It is bigger, faster growing and denser than any algae seen before. It was also difficult to eradicate because it reproduces by a sexual vegetative reproduction (a form of cloning) which means that any fragment of the plant contains all the dna necessary for an exact replica of the plant. This meant that it was capable of being spread via boats and tankers.

The algae had been bred for aquaria to decorate tropical fish tanks so when it appeared in the med it must have come from the monaco museum although this was vehemently denied. This plant is remarkably adaptable, “In aquaria it has developed a new and distinctive fingerprint and changed its characteristics so that it could survive colder water. The original source of the plant was a zoo in stutgart where during the 1970s they had imported algae from all over the world and found that the best one which flourished in the tanks came from the pacific. It’s possible the plant may have mutated in the aquaria. “Throughout the 1980s and 1990s the german bred algae had been sent to aquaria around the world. It had become the most popular aquatic plant on Earth. It was everywhere. If it could escape from one tank and survive it could escape from others. This meant it was potentially a world problem. The only way to get rid of it is a small tiny tropical slug which eats the seaweed. Meinesz wants to release the slug to eat the algae in the mediterranean. but the french authorities have refused permission to test it in open water. The mediterraean could suffer massive ecological damage from the slug as much as the seaweed.”[92] One commentator has argued that, “It’s a potential threat to seas and oceans around the world. It’s become known as the killer algae.”[93]

General.

“Rising nitrogen loads combined with phosphorous have led to exuberant and unwanted plant and algal growth in many freshwater habitats and coastal areas throughout the world. In the United States, eutrophication - rapid plant growth in water resulting in oxygen deprivation for other species - accounts for about half of the impaired lake area and 60 per cent of the impaired river reaches (Carpenter and others 1998). Large areas of northern Europe, where intensive agriculture and high fossil fuel combustion coincide, are now in a state of nitrogen saturation: no more nitrogen can be taken up by plants, and additional deposits are simply dispersed into surface water, groundwater and the atmosphere without playing any role in the biological systems for which they were intended.”[94]

Globally.

“Today, virtually every coastal state is threatened by harmful and toxic algae, in many cases covering large geographic areas.”[95]; One commentator has estimated the increase in Algal Photosynthesis brought about by ooman pollution, "According to one scientist, eutrophication in the oceans and on land could be generating a quantity of new biomass as large as 1 Gt of carbon a year."[96]

Algal blooms have appeared in many streams and lakes in the over-industrialized nations and in most seas around the world, "All around the world, red tides, glutinous green slimes and filthy looking froths of yellow foam, caused by algae, have become more frequent. Blooms are an increasing sign of eutrophication."[97]; "Spring has come early to Italy and with it the threat of another season of the mysterious, stinking foam that has plagued the Adriatic for four years. Large mucilaginous mats topped with brownish foam began to appear in the Adriatic in the summer of 1989. Biologists blamed algae but could not find the algae responsible. It is now suspected that zeolites and polycarboxylic acid (PCAs) which are used as substitutes for phosphates in "green" detergents."[98]; “As scientists document the spread of algae worldwide, they are convinced we have created a monster.”[99] According to james lovelock, “Patrick Holligan tells me that satellite photographs have revealed dense algal blooms clustered around the outlets of the continental rivers of Europe. Peter Liss and his colleagues have found that these algal blooms emit dimethyl sulfide, apparently stimulated by the rich flow of nutrients down the rivers of Europe. The excessive use of nitrate fertilizer, and the increased output of sewage effluent into the rivers feeding the North Sea and the English Channel, have gone to overnourish the sea above the European continental shelf and to make it like a duck pond.”[100]

Conclusions.

It is difficult to be precise about the scale of the anthropogenic boost to Algal Photosynthesis. This is a serious weakness in being able to understand the Earth's Carbon spiral given that some commentators believe that Algal blooms could be absorbing Igt of Carbon. If this estimate is correct this is giving a huge boost to the Earth’s Photosynthetic capacity.

2.7: Wilderness Restoration.

A few governments have come to the conclusion that some of their attempts to control nature have gone too far and that it would be better (for oomans) to restore former habitats or allow former habitats to re-establish themselves. They are not restoring these habitats because of the need to prevent climate destabilization but because the anthropogenic structures that people have imposed on the land are not as effective, or as safe, as they were originally predicted to be.

Colombia.

Parque Amacayacu, near Lebicia on the banks of the Amazon in the far south of Colombia, covers 1700 km2 of jungle and is run by a government agency called Inderena. The agency is allowing the rainforest to reclaim the land that had previously been deforested and the Indians in the area are allowed only to hunt and chop trees for subsistence not for profit. The unusual feature of the park is that by far the largest part of it is totally closed off to both tourists and scientists. No-one is allowed to enter and interfere in any way with the ecology there. For more information contact Inderena, Diagonal 34 # 5-84 Santafe de Bogota, Colombia.

Holland.

"In Holland even the daisy is dwindling and the stork, long a national symbol, has disappeared. The last known otter was killed by a car five years ago. The Dutch aim to return about 600,000 acres, almost one-tenth of the present farmland, to forest, wetlands and lakes."[101]

United States of America.

Dam Demolition.

“Two dams on the Elwah river in Washington state are about to become the first in the US to be pulled down for environmental reasons.”[102]

Everglades.

“In what is billed as the largest environmental restoration project ever, the u.s. army corps of engineers plans to spend $7.8 billion over the next two decades to return the florida everglades to their former glory. The plan covers an area of 28,000 square kilometres, stretching from orlando to the florida keys and including lake okeechobee ...”[103]

2.8: Wilderness Reversion - the Abandonment of Surplus Agricultural Land Created by Agricultural Efficiencies.

In many agriculturally advanced countries, the area of land required to grow food is diminishing, so huge areas of pharmland are being abandoned. This is leading, accidentally, to the re-emergence of natural vegetation and even Forests.

The United States of America.

Prairie Pharming.

Gregg easterbrook points out that, “But one overlooked advantage (of intensive pharming) is that it consumes progressively less land. In the late 1930s, u.s. production of the 17 essential food and fiber products - wheat, corn, cotton, and so on - was 210 million metric tons from 77 million acres. By the late 1980s, u.s. production of the same commodities was 600 million metric tons from 72 million acres. Crops trebled while acres under cultivation declined.”[104]; “Right across the u.s., the rural landscape is disappearing .. because increasing agricultural specialization means that farmers on poorer land cannot compete. An area larger than the entire state of iowa was abandoned as farming land during the 20thc, and most of the eastern u.s. will revert to woodland within 50 years or so. Two hundred years ago, america was a rural nation. in 1790, only 1 in 20 americans lived in a town. In 1990, only 1 in 40 lived on a farm.”[105]

2.9: Conclusions.

It is commonly argued that scientists have not yet balanced the modern carbon cycle. One commentator has argued that the missing Carbon might be explained by the manufacture of nitrogen fertilizers. Vitousek believes that a large proportion of synthetic fertilizers which are supposed to increase crop growth are permeating into the environment and boosting Photosynthesis, "There is a growing consensus among researchers that the scale of disruption to the nitrogen cycle may have global implications comparable to those caused by disruption to the carbon cycle. On the positive side, it appears possible that the nitrogen and carbon cycles are interacting. Since nitrogen is normally a limiting factor in plant growth, increased available nitrogen may be enhancing overall plant growth which, in turn, would enhance the Earth's Carbon storage potential. This extra vegetation may explain the puzzle of the world's 'missing' carbon - the difference between the amount of carbon emitted and the amount known to be accumulating in the atmosphere each year. (Vitousek and others 1997).”[106] Another commentator believes the missing Carbon could be the Algal blooms appearing around the world absorbing up to 1gt C per year.