Atmospheric - Duncan MacPhun - Wattpad

Story cover for Atmospheric by duncmacphun

Atmospheric

Reads 274
Votes 39
Parts 22
Time 1h 3m

Reads 274
Votes 39
Parts 22
Time 1h 3m

The eruption of Tonga's underwater volcano, in January 2022, vaporized 
150 million tons of seawater and shot a geyser of super heated steam through the stratosphere. The water vapour, a strong greenhouse gas, may increase global temperatures for at least five years. 

For the past 800,000 years, atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) was about 290 parts per million (ppm).  Many people believe the current atmospheric CO2 concentration of 415 ppm is causing global warming. (While commercial greenhouses use 1000 to 1500 ppm of CO2 to optimize plant growth).  

But . . . there is no correlation between temperature and atmospheric CO2 over the past 500 million years, so CO2 does not appear to directly affect the temperature.

And . . . the automatic thermostatic effect of a small increase in cloud cover could offset the effect of greenhouse gases by reflecting more solar radiation back into space.

Between 717 and 635 million years ago, the Earth was probably covered in ice and snow. However, between 56 and 34 million years ago the average temperature near the poles was 25°C warmer than it is today.

The Little Ice Age devastated harvests in Europe from 1300 to 1850 CE, causing starvation and sickness.  Wood was expensive so, in London, England, people began burning coal despite the smoke and dirt. 


But . . . almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors.  In the past 70 years, the average life span increased from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income grew from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day.

This explosive growth in productivity (largely as a result of fossil fuels) was responsible for astonishing improvements in health, education, and longevity. 

Eliminating fossil fuels will cause massive declines in productivity but the average person is still expected to be four times richer by 2100 CE despite disruptions.   

Read WEALTH at  https://www.wattpad.com/user/duncmacphunAll Rights Reserved

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Supernovae and Life by duncmacphun

Space and time began about 13.7 billion years ago but it consisted almost exclusively of hydrogen until some stars grew sufficiently massive to create the heavier elements in gigantic explosions called supernovae. The Sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago with an orbiting disk of debris that became the Solar System and, about 4.4 billion years ago, the Earth was cool enough for liquid water. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus make up 99% of the mass of the human body. These elements combine to form molecules ranging from water to the twin helices of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that specify the genetic code. Life on Earth probably began with complex, virus-like molecules that over billions of years evolved cells and the ability to split carbon dioxide and water (H2O). The poisonous waste product, oxygen, released into the atmosphere, probably caused the first mass extinctions on Earth. WHO THE HELL ARE WE? is a series of short books and videos describing the evolution of civilization. Almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors only 50 years ago. This astonishing phenomenon has also improved the health, education, and longevity of almost everyone. The cause; an explosive growth in ideas and productivity. Civilization began when we discovered how to use fire and stumbled onto the way to create infinite wealth; free trade. The discovery of agriculture and trade made us richer but we also discovered how to destroy wealth. Great civilization grew up but then disappeared leaving only incredible ruins and ideas. Later books detail some of the ideas and developments that increased the average life span from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day (and to $140 per day in some countries).

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On a 10 weeks sea trial in 1761, J.Harrison's chronometer was in error by less than 5 seconds. In 1758, Dr E.Darwin replaced the ancient front axle design with two stub axles, pivoting near the wheel; now a feature of all vehicles. F.G. Koenig used his steam driven press, to print an edition of The Times newspaper, in 1814. The Rocket locomotive won the 1829 Rainhill Trials with a top speed of 30 miles per hour. A steamship, from New York City took 115 days to reach to San Francisco in 1848. In 1851, all telegraph stations in the USA were connected and by 1940 there were 40 telegraph lines across the Atlantic. Corrugated paper was invented in 1856, to stiffen tall hats and, in 1874, Oliver Long inventing corrugated board. In 1861, waterwheel powered air compressors and pneumatic drills, cut construction time by 16 years for a tunnel in Switzerland. Fritz Haber's discovered a process to make ammonia fertilizer in 1914. In 1887, Nicola Tesla invented the first AC motor. In 1903, an automatic machine was able to make 2,500 bottles an hour. WHO THE HELL ARE WE? is a series of short books and videos describing the evolution of civilization. Almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors only 50 years ago. This astonishing phenomenon has also improved health, education, and longevity. The cause; an explosive growth in ideas and productivity. It began when we learned to control fire, evolved articulate speech and stumbled onto the way to create infinite wealth; free trade. The discovery of agriculture made us richer but we also learned how to destroy wealth. Great civilization grew up but then disappeared leaving only incredible ruins and ideas. Later books detail some of the ideas and developments that increased the average life span from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day (and to $140 per day in some countries).

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The Miracles by DerpyNerd_4Life

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Slide 1 of 10

Supernovae and Life cover

Elementals cover

The Miracles cover

shiver (FEATURED) | ✓ cover

4522 {Original - Rewrite release 2025} cover

The Elementals cover

Combustion cover

We Eukaryotes cover

The Four - Book 1 cover

Supernovae and Life

Space and time began about 13.7 billion years ago but it consisted almost exclusively of hydrogen until some stars grew sufficiently massive to create the heavier elements in gigantic explosions called supernovae. The Sun formed about 4.6 billion years ago with an orbiting disk of debris that became the Solar System and, about 4.4 billion years ago, the Earth was cool enough for liquid water. Oxygen, carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, calcium and phosphorus make up 99% of the mass of the human body. These elements combine to form molecules ranging from water to the twin helices of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) that specify the genetic code. Life on Earth probably began with complex, virus-like molecules that over billions of years evolved cells and the ability to split carbon dioxide and water (H2O). The poisonous waste product, oxygen, released into the atmosphere, probably caused the first mass extinctions on Earth. WHO THE HELL ARE WE? is a series of short books and videos describing the evolution of civilization. Almost everyone on the planet is five times wealthier than their ancestors only 50 years ago. This astonishing phenomenon has also improved the health, education, and longevity of almost everyone. The cause; an explosive growth in ideas and productivity. Civilization began when we discovered how to use fire and stumbled onto the way to create infinite wealth; free trade. The discovery of agriculture and trade made us richer but we also discovered how to destroy wealth. Great civilization grew up but then disappeared leaving only incredible ruins and ideas. Later books detail some of the ideas and developments that increased the average life span from about 40 years to more than 80 and the average world income from less than $3 to more than $33 per person per day (and to $140 per day in some countries).