The Independent View: Tropical Forests and Climate Change

The World's Tropical Forests are rapidly Losing their ability to soak up Carbon Dioxide from the Atmosphere, a worrying development that could Accelerate Climate Charge.

In a New Study using Data from 565 Tropical Forests across Africa and the Amazon, an International Team of Researchers found that the Forests' intake of Carbon Peaked in the 1990s. In the Past Decade, they've Absorbed a Third Less, a Difference of 23 Billion tons, or about the same as a Decade of Fossil Fuel Emissions from: Canada, France, Germany, and the UK, combined.

Forests Lose their Ability to Soak-Up Carbon as Trees dry out and die from Droughts and Higher Temperatures, but the greatest Threats to Rain Forests are: Burning, Logging, and other forms of Human Activity.

If the Amazon, the World's Largest Tropical Forest, continues to Degrade at its Current Rate, Researchers believe, it will turn from a Carbon Sink to a source of Emissions by 2035.

Humans have been lucky so far, as tropical forests are mopping up lots of our pollution, but they can't keep doing that indefinitely, says Senior Author Simon Lewis, from Leeds University in the UK.

Researchers are working on some Remedies to Counteract Global Warming, such as Planting Artificial Trees and Growing Algae in the Ocean, at a Massive Scale. But Critics worry that some of the Ideas risk Harming Nature rather than Helping it.

Artificial Trees

For Two Decades, Klaus Lackner, has been fixated on Trees and how they Pull Carbon Dioxide from the Air. What if, the Arizona State University Engineering Professor theorized, you could create a Machine that worked like a Tree, but a Thousand times more Efficiently, thereby Reducing the Effects of Climate Change?

In January, Lackner's First such Artificial Tree, which looks less like a Real Tree and more like a Super-size Lamp, came off the Manufacturing Line in Boston, and, along with more than 250 others, will be installed near Phoenix.

Unlike a Real Tree, which Absorbs 10 Tons of Carbon in its Lifetime, these Mechanical Trees may one day Collect up to 32 Tons of co2 each in a Single Year, the Equivalent of what Seven Passenger Vehicles Emit Annually.

Growing Algae in the Ocean

Over the past several years,Scientists in: Canada, Germany, and India, have explored Fertilizing the Ocean with Iron Sulfate to stimulate the Sea Life that Absorbs Carbon Dioxide and Releases Oxygen. In 2012, for example, an American Businessman dumped Iron Sulfate off Canada's Pacific Coast that created an Artificial Algae Bloom over as much as 10,000 square kilometers.

But such efforts are Controversial because Algae competes with other Aquatic Life and can Reduce Fish Population.

Meanwhile, in February, Researchers at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published a Paper saying, in fact, that kick-starting beneficial Algae Growth on a Global scale is nearly Impossible.