• Question: If there were no plants on earth, could we engineer a way for us to breathe?

    Asked by Me to Kevin, Liz, Beccy, Rosie on 13 Jun 2017.
    • Photo: anon

      anon answered on 13 Jun 2017:

      I doubt we could provide enough air for everyone using a technological solution, but I don’t know. It’s very far from my area of expertise!

    • Photo: Liz Buckingham-Jeffery

      Liz Buckingham-Jeffery answered on 13 Jun 2017:

      I don’t know, sorry! But it wouldn’t be a very nice earth. Breathing wouldn’t be the only problem if there were no plants… what would we eat?

    • Photo: Rosie Fok

      Rosie Fok answered on 13 Jun 2017:

      I don’t want to find out. Plants provide us with food, shelter and an environment that is healthy for our bodies and our minds. I don’t want to live in a world without plants.

      I don’t know the real answer to your question though. Suspect we need to ask a biogeochemist, or a chemical engineer.

    • Photo: Rebecca Corkill

      Rebecca Corkill answered on 14 Jun 2017:

      We probably could engineer a way for us to breathe. However Liz makes a good point ‘ what would we eat’.:
      Everything we eat comes directly or indirectly from plants.
      Also what about the climate:
      Plants store carbon and have helped keep much of the carbon dioxide produced from the burning of fossil fuels out of the atmosphere.
      What about medicines:
      A lot of the prescription drugs come directly from or are derivatives of plants
      What would we drink?
      Plants help regulate the water cycle.

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