Fossil fuels are buried biomass. The sun provides 1000 W/M^2 and has for the entire history of the earth. Crude oil is concentrated solar energy in the form of hydrocarbons: carbon chains with two of the four possible carbon bonds devoted to hydrogen with the exception of the ends, which have one more hydrogen. The answer to our energy problems is renewable hydrocarbons. Closed carbon cycle. Sustainable, earth bound fossil fuels aren’t; the earth doesn’t care one way or another, but if we want to continue to thrive here we need to care about atmospheric CO2.
Discussion
Do you think ancient megaflora consumed more or less CO2 than current flora?
I think probably more. My understanding is that no one knows exactly what caused the Permian Extinction event, it could have been volcanic activity, it could have been a massive meteor strike. We do know that a massive amount of carbon was captured by the life on the planet and subsequently sequestered away from the atmosphere in the earthen strata from that era. We also know that life on the planet is dynamic and evolves to accommodate the mean living conditions on the planet over time. It’s sudden change, the change that happens faster than evolutionary time that causes problems for existing life forms, particularly those with longer lifespans. If the food web crashed tomorrow flooding the atmosphere with hydrogen sulfide gas, the microbes would have those conditions adapted to in a matter of days. We would be wiped from the face of the earth as a species in hours. Managing global CO2 levels doesn’t mean moving away from hydrocarbon fuels, it does mean stop pulling them out of the strata at a rate the evolutionary processes on the planet cannot adapt to. The oceans are turning to acid as they absorb the CO2 we’re putting into the atmosphere with industrial activity, literally martyring itself for our short term survival. The tipping point is fast approaching. The corals say it all. We won’t survive a oceanic food web crash.