Are there any good effects of increased carbon dioxide?
Rising levels of CO in our air might not be all bad. Researchers suggest that CO not only stimulates plant growth, but also reduces plants’ water consumption. One experiment found that as CO was doubled, depending on the species, the amount of water required by the plant will drop between 17 and 27 percent and plant growth could increase by as much as 84 percent. If the various predictions of global warming were to come true, many barren northern regions would become suitable habitats for forests. But how fast can forests actually migrate? It is estimated that during the retreat of the last great continental ice sheets, the beech forests were able to follow only at the rate of 12 miles per century.