A Gift From Santa

Drought affects cltimae change by shifting how much carbon is stored in plant tissue, living and dead, versus carbon in atmospheric CO2In the tropics, most carbon is stored in living plants. Droughts can cause fires, decrease new growth, and shift total vegetation towards short-lived species.Away from the tropics, where much carbon is stored in dead and buried plants, drought can dry out saturated wetlands and bogs in addition to the tropic effects. This can cause the rate of decomposition of buried plant matter such as peat to rise substantially. That's a major concern in the question of thawing permafrost.Conversion of undisturbed land to farmland affects the amount of vegetation growing on the land as well as the organic content of the soil. With the majority of annual vegetation growth under the control of humans, it definitely affects the carbon cycle. The direction and magnitude of the affects depends on what farming practices are used. No-till grain farming in the U.S. has dramatically changed the trend for soil organic content where it's been introduced.

China China China using the same excuse for us not to lead. China is alcaulty starting to see the error in their ways due to climate change showing itself there through droughts, floods, desertification, etc. (though they have much more to do) Also, as their economy is still growing their amount of CO2 emissions per person are still not as high as ours. This is why we must work out a way for developing countries like China and India to reap the economic benefits we did while working to preserve the climate. What they do is no excuse for the U.S. to sit back and do nothing. Matter of fact, it is the very reason why we shouldn't be sitting back. Also, nuclear energy is not renewable nor green. You are relying on a toxic energy source that requires uranium mining and Co2 intensive construction, not to mention the pollution of waterways, killing of fish, threat of downtime during heatwaves and droughts, security threats, and continued toxic waste issues. Why some continue to want to cater to the very status quo that keeps us standing still instead of moving into truly renewable enrgy sources is beyond my comprehension. Enough sun falls on this Earth in 45 minutes that could power us for a year. We need to stop wasting our money on nuclear subsidies in a dead energy source, and provide much more incentive and support of solar energy. The strides being made in cell efficiency, nighttime efficiency and capability, and price parity are what we don't hear much about. But nevertheless, solar in my view is a power source we must turn to in order to not only stimulate economic growth, but climate and environmental stability.