The carbon cycle is key to understanding climate change

Until a few hundred years ago there was a perfect balance of carbon dioxide in the Earth's atmosphere. Human activity has disrupted that balance. What can be done to restore it?

[prometheus]

Sorry but can't get over mr Morton's beard

[takashi.]

When you were shaving your beard at 8:00 but you forgot you had an online interview at 8:05

[aunghein]

If you can change your beard we can focus on your talks on climate change.

[wellgeo]

“... pump it back down into geology”. Now there’s a sentence.

[bobleclair]

5:37: direct air capture, why not put direct air capture on smoke stacks and capture the carbon dioxide before it gets into the air, makes more sense

[Allthingsmarinelife]

I hope one day I can see the Great Barrier Reef before it’s gone :( I’m a marine biology student who has never seen a coral reef

[Daniel-htwr]

Classic economist, they will wax and wane about climate action and then endorse neo-liberal political parties that care more about corporate coughers than the climate. Pathetic.

[KhalDraggo]

I am guessing those over grown side burns are meant to function as amplified sinks

[progyandas]

Everytime I get serious watching this, the guy’s face cracks me up !

[ashkumar]

Why do these documentaries always show big, HD photos of nuclear power plants when those are precisely the form of large scale energy production that create the least amount of carbon pollution?

[merijnvanwouden]

Just to explain you all about this man’s beard; he is using his beard as a metaphor for the planets deforestation, every hair resembles 1 hectare of forest left. This practice is commonly know as voodoobearding

[YVM]

dear economist team, can you please look into and add Regenerative agriculture and holistic land management to the list. modern industrialized agriculture has been causing massive damage not only to carbon cycle but also in soil degradation and loss of diverse habitat which over time has massive negative consequences. Soil more than anything els is the biggest carbon sequestration footprint, if only we let and intensive soil do it and keep it in the soil. not only that, carbon heavy soil is a richer much more productive soil. so much to talk on this subject. comment section is not enough to explain the complexity and massive potential and need of moving to regenerative ag. please do further research on this. I am subsirber of yours. i have researched your archives and got virtually nothing on this subject. thank you

[sarabower]

Very happy to see more informational videos about climate change. Would love to see more videos on what people can do to help and videos encouraging more political engagement! Reviews of carbon fee and dividend or reviews of legislation like the USE IT ACT.

[stebarg]

3:40 most plant reduction is DIRECTLY human-made - not necessarily indirect as you’ve mentioned!!! Just think of deforestation, herbicides, lawns, grazing, etc.!!!

[laurencefish]

I'm just here for the beard comments

[sourabhmate]

You can't change system without changing economics of it.

[JinKee]

Last time I was this early trees had evolved but nothing yet had evolved to digest cellulose so all the trees became coal at a rate 600 times that of today.

[EcoHouseThailand]

I would be interested to hear what the viewers of this video are doing about this. For me, I have installed solar off grid for my house. I have planted over 50 Teak and Mahogany trees as well as many more fruit and flowering trees. Planting trees is not plant and forget, each tree planted needs regular watering and soil improvement. Living in Thailand, imported cars are heavily taxed, so a 40 KWH Nissan Leaf is US$65, 000, only Singapore is more expensive. So the electric car will have to wait. Anybody else care to share?

[wickedleeloopy]

Burning fire wood is carbon neutral. Assuming the wood your using is replaced with a new tree.. thats the problem. The trees are not being replaced at the same rate there being chopped down. If carbon had a tax value to be spent on replacing trees this method might work. But consequences are not taxed.

[mr.painfultruth]

Humans are predictable. They won't act on environmental issues, UNTIL IT'S LITERALLY AT THEIR FRONT DOOR, the ruling class is DIRECTLY affected or it begins to cost them financially. People dying wont move them. Look at Sandy Hook - no change. COVID-19 deaths- Most states are ignoring masks and social distancing