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Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fight globalwarming?
I am a lay man - neither botanist, nor a global warming specialist.
I understand that 1. Global warming is caused by Carbon dioxide in atmosphere 2. Plants fix Carbon dioxide - and more plants, less global warming 3. Plants can grow more (and more plants can grow) if soil has Nitrogen 4. Some plants can have symbiotic relations with Nitrogen fixing bacteria 5. But grass family does not have such relationship 6. Grass family is botanically most successful colonizer of land 7. Using genetic engineering we can modify organism behaviors 8. Bacteria are easier/cheaper to experiment than plants Now, if we can alter behavior of some type of the Nitrogen fixing bacteria and make them symbiotic with grass (wheat, rice, corn, millet, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo) 1. A lot of Nitrogen gets fixed into soil 2. Soil becomes very plant friendly 3. That should kick up plant growth 4. That should kick up Carbon dioxide fixation 5. That should bring down global warming Environment impact could be less than altering plant behavior to become symbiotic with bacteria. At the end we get a percent or two nitrogen less in the air, better soil, thicker vegetation and cooler planet - with slump in fertilizer stocks - all for cheaper than many options for fighting global warming. Not a bad deal! Is anyone working in this direction? -Bhushit |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
On Jan 30, 6:46*am, Bhushit Joshipura wrote:
I am a lay man - neither botanist, nor a global warming specialist. I understand that 1. Global warming is caused by Carbon dioxide in atmosphere false 2. Plants fix Carbon dioxide - and more plants, less global warming plants use co2, like we yse oxygen 3. Plants can grow more (and more plants can grow) if soil has Nitrogen most plants get nitrogen from the air. some fix it from the soil. 4. Some plants can have symbiotic relations with Nitrogen fixing bacteria true 5. But grass family does not have such relationship true 6. Grass family is botanically most successful colonizer of land could be. 7. Using genetic engineering we can modify organism behaviors sometimes successfully, most times not, and often with un-intended results. 8. Bacteria are easier/cheaper to experiment than plants Not necessarily Now, if we can alter behavior of some type of the Nitrogen fixing bacteria and make them symbiotic with grass (wheat, rice, corn, millet, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo) 1. A lot of Nitrogen gets fixed into soil 2. Soil becomes very plant friendly 3. That should kick up plant growth 4. That should kick up Carbon dioxide fixation 5. That should bring down global warming Environment impact could be less than altering plant behavior to become symbiotic with bacteria. At the end we get a percent or two nitrogen less in the air, better soil, thicker vegetation and cooler planet - with slump in fertilizer stocks - all for cheaper than many options for fighting global warming. Not a bad deal! Is anyone working in this direction? -Bhushit Who caes if someone is working on this. Your first statement, whch all subsequent statements depend on, is FALSE. You've just wasted your time and mine. |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
Bhushit Joshipura wrote: At the end we get a percent or two nitrogen less in the air, better soil, thicker vegetation and cooler planet - with slump in fertilizer stocks - all for cheaper than many options for fighting global warming. Not a bad deal! Is anyone working in this direction? -Bhushit BS J-- there is a recent issue of Science that deals with CO2 fixing plants, bacteria and fungus that have GW capabilities--if I have time I'll try and summarize it. RL |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
On Jan 30, 10:07*am, raylopez99 wrote:
BS J-- there is a recent issue of Science that deals with CO2 fixing plants, bacteria and fungus that have GW capabilities--if I have time I'll try and summarize it. Keywords: Vol 318 Dec 14, 2007 p. 1732 Fifth pathway of carbon fixation found in organism Metallosphaera. Also found in autotrophic organisms, Bacteria, Eurkarya (Calvin 1961 was first, Evans 1966 was second, 1980s gram-positive bacteria and methane-forming archaea was third; Chloroflexus green-sulfer bacterium was fourth, and now Berg et al 318 Science 1782 is fifth pathway of carbon fixation from CO2. Long story short, which I'll report in a seperate post, you can use five different ways to suck CO2 out of the air using microbes. RL |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
On Jan 30, 4:46*am, Bhushit Joshipura wrote:
I am a lay man - neither botanist, nor a global warming specialist. I understand that 1. Global warming is caused by Carbon dioxide in atmosphere 2. Plants fix Carbon dioxide - and more plants, less global warming 3. Plants can grow more (and more plants can grow) if soil has Nitrogen 4. Some plants can have symbiotic relations with Nitrogen fixing bacteria 5. But grass family does not have such relationship 6. Grass family is botanically most successful colonizer of land 7. Using genetic engineering we can modify organism behaviors 8. Bacteria are easier/cheaper to experiment than plants Now, if we can alter behavior of some type of the Nitrogen fixing bacteria and make them symbiotic with grass (wheat, rice, corn, millet, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo) 1. A lot of Nitrogen gets fixed into soil 2. Soil becomes very plant friendly 3. That should kick up plant growth 4. That should kick up Carbon dioxide fixation 5. That should bring down global warming Environment impact could be less than altering plant behavior to become symbiotic with bacteria. At the end we get a percent or two nitrogen less in the air, better soil, thicker vegetation and cooler planet - with slump in fertilizer stocks - all for cheaper than many options for fighting global warming. Not a bad deal! Is anyone working in this direction? If they aren't, they ought to be. Your facts and reasoning are sound. This scheme could produce increased food yields as a by product. Lets see what the people on sci.bio.botany have to say. The keyword in your title is "help," you say, "help fight global warming." There is no one fix that will solve global warming. What is needed is a variety of solutions each one measured by how effectively it removes greenhouse gas forcing. -Bhushit |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
On Jan 31, 5:32*am, Roger Coppock wrote:
The keyword in your title is "help," you say, "help fight global warming." *There is no one fix that will solve global warming. *What is needed is a variety of solutions each one measured by how effectively it removes greenhouse gas forcing. I have detected a small shift in your position Roger, that gives me pause for hope, if you're acknowledging that we can engineer our way out of any excess atmospheric CO2 earth... hope for you, not me. RL |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fight global warming?
"Tunderbar" wrote in message ... On Jan 30, 6:46 am, Bhushit Joshipura wrote: I am a lay man - neither botanist, nor a global warming specialist. I understand that 1. Global warming is caused by Carbon dioxide in atmosphere false 2. Plants fix Carbon dioxide - and more plants, less global warming plants use co2, like we yse oxygen 3. Plants can grow more (and more plants can grow) if soil has Nitrogen most plants get nitrogen from the air. some fix it from the soil. 4. Some plants can have symbiotic relations with Nitrogen fixing bacteria true 5. But grass family does not have such relationship true 6. Grass family is botanically most successful colonizer of land could be. 7. Using genetic engineering we can modify organism behaviors sometimes successfully, most times not, and often with un-intended results. 8. Bacteria are easier/cheaper to experiment than plants Not necessarily Now, if we can alter behavior of some type of the Nitrogen fixing bacteria and make them symbiotic with grass (wheat, rice, corn, millet, sorghum, sugarcane, bamboo) 1. A lot of Nitrogen gets fixed into soil 2. Soil becomes very plant friendly 3. That should kick up plant growth 4. That should kick up Carbon dioxide fixation 5. That should bring down global warming Environment impact could be less than altering plant behavior to become symbiotic with bacteria. At the end we get a percent or two nitrogen less in the air, better soil, thicker vegetation and cooler planet - with slump in fertilizer stocks - all for cheaper than many options for fighting global warming. Not a bad deal! Is anyone working in this direction? -Bhushit Who caes if someone is working on this. Your first statement, whch all subsequent statements depend on, is FALSE. ROFLMAO |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fight global warming?
"raylopez99" wrote in message ... On Jan 30, 10:07 am, raylopez99 wrote: BS J-- there is a recent issue of Science that deals with CO2 fixing plants, bacteria and fungus that have GW capabilities--if I have time I'll try and summarize it. Keywords: Vol 318 Dec 14, 2007 p. 1732 Fifth pathway of carbon fixation found in organism Metallosphaera. Also found in autotrophic organisms, Bacteria, Eurkarya (Calvin 1961 was first, Evans 1966 was second, 1980s gram-positive bacteria and methane-forming archaea was third; Chloroflexus green-sulfer bacterium was fourth, and now Berg et al 318 Science 1782 is fifth pathway of carbon fixation from CO2. Long story short, which I'll report in a seperate post, you can use five different ways to suck CO2 out of the air using microbes. No, but this does mean that microbes can. |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fight global warming?
"raylopez99" wrote in message ... On Jan 31, 5:32 am, Roger Coppock wrote: The keyword in your title is "help," you say, "help fight global warming." There is no one fix that will solve global warming. What is needed is a variety of solutions each one measured by how effectively it removes greenhouse gas forcing. I have detected a small shift in your position Roger, that gives me pause for hope, if you're acknowledging that we can engineer our way out of any excess atmospheric CO2 earth... Everybody knows that, at least for some CO2. But is it the cheapest route? |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
On Jan 31, 11:30*am, "Ouroboros_Rex" wrote:
Long story short, which I'll report in a seperate post, you can use five different ways to suck CO2 out of the air using microbes. * No, but this does mean that microbes can. Well, argue with the editors of Science then Fool. Because they say it can. It was in their global warming news section. RL |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
most plants get nitrogen from the air. some fix it from the soil. Nope, that's backwards. Most plants rely on nitrogen that they obtain from dissolved nitrogen compounds (NO, ammonia,nitrates, etc.) in the soil. "Nitrogen-fixing" plants obtain nitrogne from bacteria that fix it from the atmosphere (by converting N2 to ammonia.) This is why trying to increase plant biomass usually requires input of nitrogen fertilizers. Yes, making other plants nitrogen-fixing would be spiffy, but you also have to consider something else: Once a plant dies, all the CO2 that has been sequestered in its tissues goes right back into the atmosphere through burning, decay, etc. M. Reed |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fight global warming?
monique wrote:
Yes, making other plants nitrogen-fixing would be spiffy, but you also have to consider something else: Once a plant dies, all the CO2 that has been sequestered in its tissues goes right back into the atmosphere through burning, decay, etc. M. Reed Is that supposed to be bad? Isn't that called "carbon neutral"? Dust to Dust, Air to Air. |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
Whata Fool wrote:
monique wrote: Yes, making other plants nitrogen-fixing would be spiffy, but you also have to consider something else: Once a plant dies, all the CO2 that has been sequestered in its tissues goes right back into the atmosphere through burning, decay, etc. M. Reed Is that supposed to be bad? Isn't that called "carbon neutral"? Dust to Dust, Air to Air. Your final carbon tax.... |
Can genetically engineered Nitrogen fixing bacteria help fightglobal warming?
This is a very complicated "what if" question. I doubt engineering
plants to fix nitrogen would have a major impact on global warming for the following reasons: 1. Plant nitrogen fixation requires a lot of photosynthetic energy. Plants that naturally fix nitrogen often produce less dry matter if they have to fix all their own nitrogen than when they are fertilized with nitrogen. 2. The main reason to engineer plants to fix nitrogen is to save on the cost of fertilizers. Fertilizer production uses a lot of fossil fuel, and contributes to global warming, so there might be some savings in fossil fuel use in fertilizer production. However, that fossil fuel will simply be burned for something else given the increasing demand for fossil fuels. 3. Plants that will be engineered to fix nitrogen will be high value food crops such as corn, wheat and rice. The biomass those food plants produce is simply plowed under or burned each season so no carbon dioxide is permanently removed from the air. 4. Plant growth is often limited by factors other than nitrogen, especially water, temperature, other mineral nutrients, insects, plant diseases, etc. Plants engineered to fix nitrogen will not automatically have greater growth rates than nonengineered plants. 5. Fighting global warming by sequestering recently produced plant dry matter cannot have a significant impact because we are burning fossil fuels and lowering the world's photosynthetic capacity via forest destruction, building, paving, etc. at such a rapid rate. One estimate is that one gallon of gasoline required 98 tons of buried plant matter. "Bad Mileage: 98 tons of plants per gallon" http://www.innovations-report.de/htm...cht-22773.html David R. Hershey http://www.angelfire.com/ab6/hershey/bio.htm |
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