Another way to raise greenhouse gas concentrations

Raising greenhouse gas concentrations is not something the Earth needs, but by doing something else -- fertilizing crops and lawns and plants, etc. -- then the concentrations will rise.

The problem is that excess fertilizer gets into streams and lakes and rivers, and that increases the growth of algae.  Then the algae die, and sink, and bacteria break them down, and that uses up oxygen.  This process is called eutrophication (if you haven't heard of it before).

So ... when the oxygen gets used up, other bacteria take over.  And those bacteria produce methane.  So this study projects that as a) human population increases, b) nutrients and sewage input to lakes and rivers and streams increases, and thus c) lake and ocean temperature increases, THEN eutrophication increases, methane release from these eutrophied bodies of water will increase, and since methane is a greenhouse gas, greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere increase.

Which, unfortunately, is not good.

The solution is to improve overall global water quality.  That, also unfortunately, won't be easy.


Eutrophication of lakes will significantly increase greenhouse gas emissions