"Earth is our caretaker, not the other way around"

notes on 12/10/04 John Batchelor segment

Charles Pellegrino ("Ghost of Vesuvius" author) discusses buildup of carbon dioxide tonight. Several factors involved in the phenom but Charlie said scientists zeroing in on industrial fishing. Summary:

90% of fish gone from Atlantic ocean. Fish eat plankton, which eat phyloplankton that make up the vital 2% of ocean "crust," which cleans the air of carbon dioxide. With fish gone, the phyloplankton being destroyed at a great rate and thus not cleaning the atmosphere. This may be the chief reason for the sharp spike in increased carbon dioxide and thus, a factor in global warming.

However, fishing industries going bankrupt because of overfishing. So, carbon dioxide spike could resolve itself once the fish come back and eat up the plankton that are eating the phyloplankton.

Scientists also noticing increased activity in our sun; that could be contributing to global warming -- retreat of glaciers.

Charley says to remember that the earth can take care of herself; it's humans who are being cared for by earth -- but we must learn to be more in tune with earth laws.

Note: Google URL headline says James Cameron to make Ghost of Vesuvius movie based on Charley's book.