The Story of CO2 Is the Story of Everything

CO2, the story of everything? Is the book title overambitious or does the author strike a note of extreme urgency? Peter Brannen is a prize-winning science journalist, and his account of geological and human history is focused on disturbing developments facing us. From life’s emergence Brannen…

CO2, the story of everything? Is the book title overambitious or does the author strike a note of extreme urgency? Peter Brannen is a prize-winning science journalist, and his account of geological and human history is focused on disturbing developments facing us. From life’s emergence Brannen takes us through the eons and eras of the planet’s development from the bacteria in the vents in the crust at the seafloor to asteroid collisions, volcanic eruptions and the split-up of techtonic plates from supercontinents. The air we breathe, castrophes like Sowball Earth, plant and animal life in the latest billion years are all intertwined with the carbon cycle managing to keep the atmosphere not too hot and not too cold. Rodinia and Pangaea are wellknown names to geologists, and become household names to the ordinary reader as he makes his way through the book. Rodinia was when the CO2 disappeared from the atmosphere and the planet was reduced to an all-white snowball only recovering by the help of volcanic eruptions. Pangaea was the era of three of the Big Five – the Extinctions of life. The Sixth is the worst case option our sivilisation is heading toward. Beyond a potential tipping point, Brannen describes four of the Five Extinctions as colossal eruptions, titanic currents of rock drawn down entire ocean plates to the centre of the world to be destroyed and reborn. When this process suffers a hiccup, supereruptions gush out of the crust like tectonic indigestion, leaving gigantic swaths of Earth buried in volcanic rock. The Fifth Big One by exception was the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs 66 million years ago, and which cleared for the ascent of the mammals.

I learned about this book from an article in the Guardian. I was interested in the subject matter and I looked for a source in the USA, but I could not find one. The ordering of the book was easy and I expected it would take a while for the book to arrive. I was disappointed with Trump's pol…

I learned about this book from an article in the Guardian. I was interested in the subject matter and I looked for a source in the USA, but I could not find one. The ordering of the book was easy and I expected it would take a while for the book to arrive. I was disappointed with Trump's policies toward customs on packages shipped from foreign countries and retaliation from British post stopping the shipment of packages. I had expected further delays; however I was surprised to receive the package is the time frame time that was promised. I am ashamed to say that the book is sitting in my pile of books to be read. I do read the introduction to all of the books that I received and I was pleased with what I had read and I am looking forward to diving into the book later this fall.