For GSS A New World View chapter 5. Excerpt: The vast expanses of
rainforest that make up the Amazon Basin have been called the lungs of
the planet, as they breathe in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. Now,
findings from biweekly airplane flights over the jungle show how a
severe drought choked these lungs, constricting the uptake of carbon
dioxide, a greenhouse gas. Worse, fires released tremendous amounts of
carbon into the atmosphere, exacerbating global warming. ...Scientists
are concerned that climate change—with rising temperatures and more
droughts—will reduce the rainforest’s storage of carbon and in turn
hinder its ability to slow the pace of global warming. http://news.sciencemag.org/climate/2014/02/scienceshot-fire-blackening-earths-lungs. Erik Stokstad, Science Magazine (AAAS). |
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