By Steve Hanley
Most of us learned about photosynthesis when we were in high school. Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make the food they need to grow. That means higher carbon dioxide levels should be good for plants, right? Absolutely, says Republican Congressman Lamar Smith of Texas. He is a firmly committed climate change denier who is the chairman of the House Committee on Science.
Recently, he stated that we should not be concerned about rising carbon dioxide levels because CO2 is good for plants and anything that is good for plants is good for people. “A higher concentration of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere would aid photosynthesis, which in turn contributes to increased plant growth. This correlates to a greater volume of food production and better quality food,” he said.
Actually, Congressman, things are not that simple. Samuel Myers, a doctor turned climate researcher at Harvard University, leads the Planetary Health Alliance, a global research program that seeks to connect the dots between climate science and human health. He is deeply involved in understanding how carbon dioxide levels impact nutrition levels in plants, as Politico reports. He calls it part of a much larger picture about how changes in one area — like higher CO2 levels or drought — create ripple effects throughout an entire ecosystem.
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Kristie Ebi, Professor of Global Health and Director of the UW Center for Health and the Global Environment, is quoted in this story.