User:Paine Ellsworth/Emerald breath

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In the atmosphere of Earth, dry air contains 78.08% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.04% carbon dioxide, and small amounts of other gases. Air also contains a variable amount of water vapor, on average around 1% at sea level, and 0.4% over the entire atmosphere. The oxygen we breathe is thanks mostly to the green algae and the blue-green algae in our oceans, which provide about 70% of the free oxygen produced on Earth, and the rest, or about 30% of the oxygen produced, comes to us from trees and other land plants.

We need to look into the care of these awesome, amazing plants! Many of them are pollenizers, as well, which means they are the basis of most of the food we eat. What if something came along, some sort of virus or other, that is lethal to these plants – what if they were wiped out? Where would that leave us? The air we breathe would become very thin as oxygen levels dropped. This is not meant to alarm you, because as far as is known there is no immediate and major threat to our air givers. I still must ask the "what if" question, though, because if we lose the green and blue-green algae, we're toast.

One interesting thing about the oxygen in the air we breathe is that the level is balanced, perfectly balanced. When you think about that, consider the billions and billions of living things that consume oxygen each and every day, then think about the many, many living things that make and emit oxygen everyday. The amount of oxygen made and emitted into the atmosphere everyday exactly matches the amount of oxygen consumed everyday. Exactly. The 20.95% of oxygen in the air does not change, does not waver. The creation vs. consumption of oxygen is balanced.

Our world consumes a lot of oxygen! If my math is correct, at present it's about 100,000 tons of oxygen per minute and slowly rising. Most of the oxygen is consumed by the combustion of fossil fuels and industrial activities (1st place), with smaller amounts consumed by wildfires (2nd place) and animal respiration (3rd place). With all that, our precious plants are able to produce just enough oxygen to maintain the 20.95% figure. So one must ask, "How is that figure regulated? Who regulates it?" It would take an advanced technology to ensure that plants produce the same amount of oxygen as is globally consumed.

I've seen so little written about this "natural" phenomenon. Don't you wonder how it's possible for there to be "just enough" oxygen manufactured as there is oxygen consumed? This is a coincidence of magnitude ∞ ! This is one strong piece of evidence for a warden in charge of this Earthly prison we inhabit.

How Much Oxygen Does a Tree Produce?
Here is more info on this subject. I recently read this and am quoting: "[...] it’s important to understand just how much oxygen a tree produces. While most oxygen is produced by phytoplankton, trees still play a significant role in providing us with breathable and clean air. So, how much oxygen do trees actually produce?

The average human takes in about 550 liters of oxygen in a day –– that’s about 145 gallons. Individuals who exercise or are active throughout the day may take in more oxygen on average, depending on the level of activity.

Now, some of that oxygen is produced by trees. The amount of oxygen a tree produces is influenced by several factors, including species, age, health, and surroundings. A tree also does not produce the same amount of oxygen year-round. Because oxygen production is dependent on sunlight, trees also don’t produce the same amount of oxygen during the night.

Typically, old, mature trees produce more oxygen than younger trees. In fact, a mature oak tree can produce, on average, 100,000 liters of oxygen a year. That’s about 274 liters of oxygen a day –– nearly half of what the average human needs in a day. Douglas fir, beech, spruce, and maple trees are among the trees that produce the most oxygen. In other words, in addition to the many other vital roles that healthy forests play, it’s in our best interest to be vastly outnumbered by trees."

Even though most of the free oxygen in the atmosphere is produced by ocean plants, we humans as land dwellers must get most of the oxygen we actually breathe from trees and other land plants. Still looking for figures on this. Want to find out how much of the oxygen that land breathers use actually does come from land plants. One figure I just read at BBC's Science Focus is 50%, but then I've also read elsewhere that the ocean/land production is 50%/50%, (which contradicts the previous 70%/30% figures) so maybe that's what they're all about? At any rate, I'll say again that since we live on land, most of our breathable oxygen probably comes from land plants, and that amount most likely increases the farther away we live from the sea. And that's probably why I can't seem to find any solid figures on actual oxygen production and consumption for any given area of land.

Still have to wonder, though, just who or what regulates the unchanging amount of free oxygen in the atmosphere at just about 21%? It might not be as easy as you think. When you consider that in the fall, plants begin to become dormant and reach a dormancy peak during winter, they must produce less oxygen then. And of course there is the difference between the northern and southern hemispheres of Earth. There are many factors to consider when regulating the amount of free oxygen in Earth's atmosphere. Is it natural? or does prison Earth actually have some kind of sentient warden?

Control of the oxygen level
On the subject of who or what regulates the levels of gases in Earth's atmosphere, there are several possibilities. Feel free to add your own thoughts to this "think page".

Spiritual?
There are hundreds and hundreds of religions on planet Earth. Most of these adhere to a belief system that includes some form of spiritual entities, living spiritual beings. Some religions glorify many "gods", some worship one god with many angels, and so on. As there is no hard, scientific evidence for spiritual beings of any kind, these religions must include an article of faith. Faith is required because there is no proof – no hard evidence that ghosts do actually exist. Spiritual beings watching over us and our planet could explain how the level of oxygen is regulated.

Corporeal?
It is also possible that the beings who look after planet Earth are corporeal, like us, except that they are much more longer-lived than we are and are at a much higher level of technology. Why is it then that we have yet to meet them? or even to see them? I think the answer is obvious... they don't want to be seen, they don't want to meet us, and their technology is advanced enough to help them stay out of our crosshairs! Those who have "seen UFOs"? For the rest of us it's just hearsay evidence and not allowed in the courtrooms of our minds. However, as I've said before, I refuse to believe that human beings are the highest form of life in the Universe.

AI?
Haven't heard about this one? Neither have I. Imagine a crew of highly advanced Datas from Star Trek, TNG (androids, I guess) watching over planet Earth. By present standards they are not "alive" and yet are very highly advanced beings who were created long ago by an advanced corporeal civilization who are perhaps now extinct. Those living beings who created the androids could have lived here on Earth long ago, so long ago that there is no longer anything left to tell us that they were here. Or they could have lived on another planet in a "nearby" star system. Those androids, which live essentially forever, are caring for our planet, caring for us, and studying us.

I would hazard a guess that they're very curious about our rudimentary efforts to develop AI of our own. If I were them, I would study us closely and perhaps learn things about their origins, their beginnings, that they could only learn by watching our fascinating inventions based upon our present levels of science and technology. It may very well be that this crew of highly advanced "robots" or "androids" are presently responsible for the regulation of the oxygen level in Earth's atmosphere?

From where?
They would have been created by... someone – someone else – no one we know – a civilization of whom we are not aware. Perhaps an advanced people who lived millions of years ago created this AI? And here they may be, watching over this planet, their "home planet", which may have endured more than one past advanced civilization, each rising to a certain level of technology, and then each coming under the thumb of total- or near-extinction. The AI go on while the living beings die out, or almost die out, and then sentient life rises again. We are now at the level of technology that includes rudimentary forms of AI. I wonder... how much longer do we have on this world? How much longer will we live here and enjoy this fabulous planet Earth? If we, too, are wiped out, or almost wiped out, how will it happen? When will it happen? Yes, so sorry, but I do wonder – I must. Don't you?

Simulation?
Little is known about this one, and I find it difficult to accept as true, even moreso than spirituality. Someone of unknown origin has suggested that the double-slit experiment is the greatest proof that we only exist in a very advanced form of computer simulation. And so I postulate that such an advanced computer simulation is another possible reason that the oxygen level in Earth's atmosphere is maintained at about 21%. It's programmed that way? Where's my aspirin? No, not for a headache – I'm talkin' where's my low dose 81mg aspirin that helps to keep my heart going? Talk about your palpitations!

Other?
If I think of any others I'll be sure to include them here.


 * Here's one&#58;: Seems I sometimes hear about certain mysterious cabals that "rule the world" anonymously {secret society(ies)?}. If they do exist, then it's possible that they have the technology to regulate the oxygen level in the atmosphere.


 * Here's another&#58;: Maybe there is no one "out there" at all? It's entirely possible that our planet is somehow able to regulate the gases in its atmosphere by some natural mechanism, about which I know nothing. So maybe there really is no sentient warden who uses high technology to protect this prison planet? I sincerely hope that isn't the case.


 * And another&#58;: This seems to be tied closely to the previous entry. Perhaps plants are more sentient than we "sapient" beings have deemed possible?

What would it take?
To precisely regulate the level of free oxygen in Earth's atmosphere, we first would have to know precisely how much oxygen is consumed for a given period of time. We would also have to know exactly how much oxygen that plants emit into the air for that same period of time. Plants use sunlight to make the nutrients they need, and oxygen emission is just a byproduct of that process. We would need some sort of machine that can both create oxygen and deplete it when necessary. If the plants of Earth don't produce enough oxygen, then our machine would compensate for the insufficiency. If the plants emit too much oxygen, then our machine would then consume just enough oxygen to maintain the 20.95% figure.

Or... if we had the technology we could simply monitor the amount of oxygen in the atmosphere, and our CDM (create/deplete machine) would operate from that measurement. Much less complicated. Frankly, I don't think this technological capability exists yet on Earth, although I could be wrong.

Take a breath
Each of our lives is really something! It is a series of races. You probably don't remember that first race you won. I certainly don't remember my first race. At some point in time before I was born, my father generated many, many sperm cells, of which I was one (and each sperm cell with slight genetic differences). At nearly that same point in time my mother generated one of many, many egg cells, of which I was one (and each egg cell with slight genetic differences). And then the sperm cell that was me swam and swam, and beat all those other sperm cells to Mom's egg cell, pierced the outer membrane of the winning egg cell that was me, and then began to complete the human being that I would become. Even with all the controversy over "when exactly does a human life begin", we can safely say that before all that happened, I was not alive. Before our daddys' sperm cells came to be, before our mommys' egg cells made it to their uteri and were pierced by our dads' sperm cells, we were not alive.

As a sentient species we traditionally think of the beginning of life as "officially" taking place when each of us plop out of the womb into someone's arms, at the exact time of our birth, that is, about the time when we take our first breath. When I was born I was zero years old. A year later my age was one year old, and so on. One way we measure our age is by the "year", and "year" is an abbreviation for "the time it takes Earth to travel one full circuit around the Sun". I myself am in great awe when I think of how many of those years took place before I was born, how many happened while I was not yet alive. I'm humbled by that. And something else humbles me. At some point in time I am going to die. And I'm humbled when I think of how many of those years will pass after I myself have passed, after I am no longer alive.


 * Fear: It always seems to be with us to some extent or another. I certainly don't fear those many years that went by before I was conceived and born, so it makes no sense for me to fear those many years that will go by after my heart stops beating and I stop breathing, after I am dead and gone, past carin'. We each get one little period of time under the Sun, during which we are physically "alive", so we should make the most of it, which just means, "Live your life with love and gratitude, not with fear! " Now if I could only "practice what I preach".

The last question
I think this question can be answered, just not by me. This is by the way an intentional nod to Asimov's "The Last Question", an incredibly awesome short story. Here comes the last question on this subject. If all of the green leaves that have fallen from all the trees and all the bushes, all the plants in the entire world, were to just suddenly disappear, how low would the atmospheric oxygen level dip? In other words, how significant is the total effect on the atmospheric oxygen of all those leaves that have separated from their branches and yet still generate free oxygen for us to breathe?

{ Weird, right? }

Thank you for reading!

< * more to come * >

Refs
"As far as we can discern, the sole purpose of human existence is to kindle a light of meaning in the darkness of mere being."

- Carl Jung