I spoke this about this briefly on Kagro in the Morning yesterday, but it wasn’t clear how it worked. Now we know. Oh, and climate change skeptics rejoice! We’re off the hook! New research indicates it’s been the earthworms all this time!
Earthworms probably increase GHG emissions through a combination of mechanisms, as they change the soil environment in many different ways. They mix organic plant residues in the soil, which may increase decomposition and CO2 emissions. Moreover, the earthworm gut also acts as a microbial incubator, boosting the activity of N2O-producing microbes. Finally, by burrowing through the soil, earthworms make it easier for GHGs in the soil to flow to the atmosphere.
So earthworms produce nitrous oxide farts? I expect that make make the little wrigglers even more popular among a certain segment of the population than they might soon be among their new found champions among the usual suspects.
Wait a second, it seems to me I recall a powerful congressman mocking the idea that humans, with all our technology and intelligence and prodigious numbers couldn’t possibly affect the climate, that’s solely in the Divine hands of God-eh and it even says so In Genesis.
Think Progress — Well actually the Genesis 8:22 that I use in there is that “as long as the earth remains there will be springtime and harvest, cold and heat, winter and summer, day and night.” My point is, God’s still up there. The arrogance of people to think that we, human beings, would be able to change what He is doing in the climate is to me outrageous.
Now, let’s countdown to the spine snapping 180 degree reversal where tiny spineless Precambrian annelids are suddenly given power over nature recently reserved only for the Lordeh. So God and earthworms change the climate … but definitely not humans, it says so in the Bible, probably somewhere in the back …
God is obviously and earthworm…
Makes sense on so many levels (even if some are subterranean).
‘an’ not ‘and’
An edit feature, an edit feature, my kingdom for an edit feature
oh yes, and in defence of worms:
http://howlandbolton.com/essays/read_more.php?sid=30
Feh. It’s all the cows’ fault.
All along I was blaming termites & grazing cattle!
God is not an earthworm. Having created his favored brood in his own image and likeness, he is obviously either a bacterium or a beetle.
Randomfactor, you old Haldanian you :-)
While your argument might hold true for bacteria, I wonder if any one of the grillions of beetle species would have sufficiently overwhelming numbers to trounce any one of the (supposedly fewer) species of worm.
And it surely has to be based on species.
To check, ask any Xian if the “god’s likeness”-y thing extends beyond Homo sapiens sapiens.
Yes, it’s not like earthworms are part of the existing carbon cycle and fossil fuel combustion is extracting carbon sequestrated long ago and injecting it back into the cycle or anything….
Damnit composer99. My thought exactly.
Also, earthworms burn lots of limestone to make their underground concrete bunkers.
I don’t know about the worms or the cows…. but my hound dogs certainly did not ease global warming last night!