How carbon dioxide saves mankind from famine
Anatomically modern humans (Homo sapiens) have existed for at least 300,000 years and would almost have died out several times in the initial phase of their development - especially during longer periods of cold. It is possible that only a few hundred members of our species lived on earth in some places. This is indicated by the so-called “genetic bottleneck”, which stands for the astonishingly low genetic diversity of humans.
For around 40,000 years, the population curve has only known one direction, namely up. At the time of the birth of Christ, mankind already comprised around 300 million copies, and between 1800 and 1850 the threshold of one billion was exceeded. The previous continuous but slow growth has been followed by a downright explosive increase since the middle of the 20th century: Between 1940 and 2010 the earth's population tripled from 2.26 to 6.96 billion. And now around 7.8 billion people live on earth.
In view of the excess of births at the time, the English economist Thomas Robert Malthus predicted catastrophic global famines in 1798 because food production could no longer keep pace with population growth. But he was wrong. Serious local supply crises due to crop failures, wars and wrong political decisions did indeed occur again and again, as in India (1866, 1876–1878 and 1943/44) or China (1876–1879, 1896/97, 1928/29 and 1959–1961) with possibly over a hundred million dead. Nevertheless, this did not stop the significant increase in the total population on our planet as a result of a global shortage of food.
Horror scenario did not materialize
The rapidly increasing human race did not fall into the “Malthusian trap”, although they left a lot of agricultural land deserted through overuse or overgrazing and otherwise only handled natural resources with little care. This success is mostly attributed to massive increases in yields in agriculture. The main cause of this is, in turn, a more effective division of labor, innovative cultivation and husbandry methods as well as significant improvements in the control of pests and in the protection of animals and plants.
But that's only one side of the coin. Medieval global warming had at least as positive effects between around 900 and 1400, when there was still no mechanization in agriculture. The warm phase not only ensured higher yields at traditional locations, but also resulted in a long-term expansion of the usable floor area.
And then there is the carbon dioxide (CO₂), which is said to be responsible for the current “global warming” - regardless of whether it comes from natural sources or is released by humans through the combustion of fossil fuels. The proportion of CO₂ in the atmosphere is said to have risen from around 280 ppm (parts per million or parts per million) to well over 400 ppm since the beginning of industrialization around 1750, with the increase since 2000 by climatologists to two to two and a half ppm per Year is estimated. Plants need CO₂ for photosynthesis, which uses light to create energy-rich organic compounds from low-energy inorganic substances such as carbon dioxide and water, which form the basis for the nutrition of animals and humans. Quite apart from the fact that the oxygen, which is also indispensable, is released into the atmosphere “on the side”.
50 percent more corn thanks to CO₂
From this it can be logically concluded that an increase in the CO₂ proportion in the atmosphere of our planet would lead to increased yields in agriculture. In fact, various researchers have already proven this effect. However, its strength has so far been set far too low. This emerges from a recently published working paper by the US National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) in Cambridge (Massachusetts) entitled "Environmental Drivers of Agricultural Productivity Growth: CO₂ Fertilization of US Field Crops".
In it, Charles A. Taylor and Wolfram Schlenker from Columbia University in New York use statistical data from the US Department of Agriculture to show that corn yields in the USA have increased by 500 percent since 1940, while winter wheat and soybeans have increased by 200 percent . The two environmental and agricultural economists then put this development in relation to the increase in CO₂ levels in the atmosphere. The figures about the increase come from the research satellite of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
In order to be able to adequately weight the influence of other factors on the earnings situation, such as annual weather anomalies and the like, Taylor and Schlenker operate with a self-developed mathematical model. This is how they come to the result: 50 percent of the higher yields in maize are due to the increase in the carbon dioxide content in the atmosphere by around 100 ppm. In the case of soybeans and winter wheat, the purely CO₂-related increase is even 60 and 80 percent, respectively.
The study is a heavy blow for climate apocalyptists, who only see something terrible in the rise in CO₂ levels in the air, which must be countered with all might. Because ill-considered “climate protection” can evidently lead directly to famine. Especially if measures are not taken against the population explosion at the same time.
Source: Preußische Allgemeine Zeitung
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