Encourage Photosynthesis

Photosynthesis removes carbon dioxide from the atmosphere converting it into carbohydrate and oxygen. Worldwide, approximately 500 Gt of carbon dioxide are removed by photosynthesis each year. Compared to the 30 Gt of carbon dioxide produced form the combustion of fossil fuels, it is clear that by encouraging photosynthesis, the amount of carbon dioxide can be reduced to a manageable level.

One way of encouraging photosynthesis is to reduce deforestation of rainforests. Photosynthesis occurs fastest in the rainforests so by cutting them down and reducing the number of plants in the tropical rainforests, we slow down the rate of photosynthesis greatly and reduce the uptake of carbon dioxide by plants. This is made an even bigger problem as plants elsewhere in the world cannot photosynthesis as fast as trees from the tropical rainforests. This means that in order to match the rate of photosynthesis of one tree from the rainforest more than one tree may be need to be planted. Furthermore, it takes a few months maybe even years, before a tree can start photosynthesising at its maximum capacity so it can mean that there is a reduced uptake of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere till the tree matures to maximum photosynthesising capacity. Additionally, deforestation actually adds about 2 Gt of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere when the wood is burned or decays.

Another way of encouraging photosynthesis is to simply plant more plants and trees. This can be done by encourage home owners to have a lawn, several plants and maybe even a tree by reducing council tax for or giving rewards to people that match a certain criteria. Additionally, councils can invest more money on planting more trees on the roadsides and in parks in order to encourage photosynthesis. Furthermore, school could be encouraged to plant more trees by giving them rewards for planting a certain number of trees.

However, there are a few problems. By reducing deforestation of tropical rainforests, it is hard for these countries to develop and provide raw materials, like wood, for their own country and the rest of the world. Furthermore, an overwhelming majority of the tropical rainforests are in less economically developed areas that are trying to develop and go through their industrial revolution like the rest of the developed world. In order for them to achieve this they need to expand and develop which results in deforestation. Since many countries understandably want to industrialise, they do not want to reduce deforestation as they consider their countries’ needs to be greater than the world’s needs.