People that are skeptical about the warming effect of carbon dioxide often point to the fertilization effect of CO2 on plants, causing them to grow more rapidly. Of course, that is just one factor in the growth of plants–they also need water, nutrients and sunlight to grow. A New York Times article this week describes a new way that plant scientists have found to measure the growth of plants across the globe going back 54,000 years using air bubbles trapped in Antarctic ice. The research shows that plants are growing at an unprecedented rate due to the recent increases in CO2 in the atmosphere caused by the burning of fossil fuels, helping to remove some of the carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. The big question–how long will this effect continue, particularly if warmer temperatures cause more frequent droughts? You can read the full story here.
