Carbon footprint

(Part 6)

Last Thursday, we wrote about carbon sinks and how they kept the balance of carbon dioxide concentrations in the earth's atmosphere for millions of years. Yet in recent times (and by recent I'm referring to the last century or two), the balance was somehow tipped, which resulted to a worldwide greenhouse effect, inducing global warming and thus, climate change. We posed two questions, "what have we done?" and "what am I doing?" The first is a collective question to mankind; the second a personal question, from this day forward.

We have to take a closer look at man here, in relation to nature and in relation to other living creatures. The dictionary defines the word "natural" as "existing in or caused by nature; not made or caused by humankind." Natural means that nature will take its due course. This includes all living things, whether animals or plants, or other microscopic organisms that are presently existing, may have existed, or may evolve in the future, except man, which has the capacity to change things to suit his own will. Plants and animals had evolved but this was simply to adjust to nature, not go against it. Only man has the intelligence to defy nature.

Man cannot naturally fly, but today, thousands do, out of the Mactan-Cebu International Airport. We cannot live beneath the sea but today, naval personnel constantly do, in submarines which carry enough destructive weaponry to change the face of the earth if ever released. Plants and other animals continued their same existence for thousands of years, but man continually change his - we are the only living creature with a "history" and which has a "civilization" to speak of. Only man can change the face of the earth, not following or even against natural processes, bringing us to the technological grandeur we have now.

Where is the tipping point, in relation to carbon dioxide concentrations and carbon sinks? We go back to history, keeping in mind that human history is very different, and far much shorter, than the (geologic) history of planet earth. Human history itself can be separated into two - that which was recorded (and is actually relatively short, around 6,000 years ago) and the period before that, around 2 million years ago, learned only from archaeological diggings. But man's activities which contributed the most to the carbon dioxide imbalance became significant only in the last couple of centuries. Very, very recent, by historical standards.

We can spend some time reviewing history and the progress of human civilization. It is generally accepted that "civilization" started out of the Stone Age, when man first established settlements and discontinued nomadic life, and this was when man "discovered" (or was it "invented?") agriculture. Tilling the soil for food was man's first attempt at changing the face of the earth; for centuries later, man formed settlements, cities, and countries, and expanded to new areas, in search of food, or gold and spices by which to buy food. First, there was the Sumerian and Minoan civilizations, then sometime later, the others - Egyptian, Greek, Persian, Inca, Indian, etc. Technology progressed, mostly physical and mechanical in nature.

But it was only in the last century or so, that man achieved the best (and the worst) of his progress, when he invented machines moved by combustion of fossil fuel and discovered electricity that unleashed the present technological state. It is important to note that for centuries, man used animals for transportation (which is why your air-conditioner is still being rated in "horsepower") and countries "produced" goods by hand labor or mechanical machines. The latter gave mankind better efficiency but only to a certain extent - ultimately, machines still get their power from human or animal force.

It was only very recently that man discovered machines can be powered by heat, first by burning wood or other bio-fuels to boil water to produce steam which powered steam engines. This started the industrial revolution which created factories for mass production and enabled huge ships such as the Titanic to cross oceans. Then man discovered that he can mine coal, gas, oil, and other petroleum products from the depths of the earth, and he developed internal combustion engines to propel machines to do his bidding. Then Michael Faraday invented the electric motor and the world was never the same after that.

Imagine this - what if today, all the world's coal, gas, oil, gasoline, and electricity disappear? Wouldn't some of us consider it a worst disaster than Yolanda? Maybe so. But remember this - you and I will still live as man did all these centuries, but maybe sans the wrath of Yolanda. What is it for you, then? (to be continued)