CO2 Fertilization: the Untold Story.
Leighton Steward to Address Brazosport Garden Club
Extensive coverage by the media has insured that most people are at least vaguely aware that atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide, CO2, are rising, that CO2 is a greenhouse gas that tends to warm the earth, and that mankind’s burning of coal, oil, and natural gas, collectively called fossil fuel, is a major source of this increase of CO2. These factors are true. There is much debate within the scientific community about the amount of warming and resulting impacts, positive and negative, from a doubling of CO2 from pre-industrial levels. But there is little awareness of the positive impact of higher levels of CO2 to the biosphere.
During the October meeting of the Brazosport Garden Club, Leighton Steward, geologist, environmentalist, author, and retired energy industry executive, will address the many benefits of higher CO2 levels in his talk, “Greening the Earth & Saving Habitats, Ecosystems, & Lives”. The public is invited to this special event, which will be held on Thursday, October 2, 2014 at 7:00 pm at the Lake Jackson Civic Center. Mr. Steward will refresh our understanding that CO2 is a gas of life, a vital raw material for plants. He will show how higher CO2 levels increase the net primary productivity of plants, including food crops important to feed the world’s growing population. Data will be presented showing how elevated CO2 levels make plants more tolerant to drought and heat and more efficient in extracting soil nutrients.
Mr. Steward has written about the reasons for the loss of much of the Mississippi River delta (Louisiana's National Treasure) and has given on how the nation could achieve "no net loss" of wetlands in the future; advice that was accepted by the EPA and U. S. Corps of Engineers. Leighton was lead author on a book about nutrition and health (Sugar Busters) that gave advice on how to lose weight and prevent and or treat diabetes. The book became a #1 New York Times Best seller for sixteen weeks and made a significant contribution to the changes that have occurred regarding the availability of no-sugar-added, higher fiber, and low-glycemic products in the super markets. More recently, he has written a book (Fire, Ice and Paradise) that is an endeavor to educate the non-scientist about the many causes of global climate change so that the reader will be better prepared to understand what they hear, see, and read about in the media and from the politicians. In recognition of his many environmental efforts, Leighton has received numerous environmental awards, including the regional EPA Administrator's Award for environmental excellence.
He was formerly Chairman of the Board of The Institute for the Study of Earth and Man at SMU, was Chairman of the National Wetlands Coalition, and was twice Chairman of the Audubon Nature Institute. Leighton currently serves on the boards or boards of visitors of the M. D. Anderson Cancer Center, EOG Resources, The Buffalo Bill Historical Center, the Southwest Research Institute, and is an emeritus member of the Tulane University board.