Plants, Energy, and Changes on a Global Scale As human beings, we tend to be more interested in animals (particularly ourselves) than plants. Plants get a bum rap for being kind of boring unless they do something like eat insects or even rats (look it up). However, plants aren't boring. In fact, they play an incredibly important role in our lives. To get you thinking about how plants affect us humans, I want you to think about the following scenarios and write a post for each.

Instructions Read and think about the following two scenarios: Solar Power While attending a lecture by a globally recognized scientist specializing in developing technology to utilize alternative fuels (particularly solar power), she surprises you by making the following statements. First, she welcomes everyone by saying, "Welcome to all my fellow solar-powered organisms!" You do a double take and look around to see any plants behind you, but no, she is talking to you. Later, when asked when solar-powered cars will become viable alternatives to driving gasoline-powered vehicles, she says, "Actually, you all probably drove here in a solar-powered vehicle already!" Humans and the Climate Over the last few decades, researchers have discovered evidence that the native peoples of the Americas before the year 1492 (pre-Colombian) were way more abundant than we had previously thought, with populations in the tens of millions. Not surprisingly, these abundant native populations altered the land markedly, mostly by controlled burning. Year after year they burned millions of acres of forest and prairie alike, managing the land to suit their needs. After 1492, the natives appear to have suffered huge losses of life (~90%), most likely due to an unfortunate susceptibility to diseases from their European visitors (e.g., smallpox, etc.), and the wide-scale controlled burning came to an end. Not long after, from around 1500–1750 (experts disagree on the start and end times of this period), the Earth went through a global cooling period, often known as the Little Ice Age. Some researchers at Stanford University have speculated that the pandemic of the native American peoples, loss of burning, and subsequent reforestation could have been responsible for a significant portion of the cooling trend observed (Dull et al., 2010). Create an initial post that includes sections labeled Solar Power and Humans and the Climate, and answer the corresponding questions: Solar Power What in the world is she talking about? Are human beings actually solar powered? Where does the energy we use for life ultimately come from? Think all the way to the chemical level. Surely she must be nuts about cars being solar powered. Is she? Where does the energy in fossil fuels ultimately come from? Name three sources of energy we humans use that don't come from the sun. Humans and the Climate Given what you know about plants, photosynthesis, and the carbon cycle, explain how this could have happened. If true, what does that say about the impact of plants on the Earth's climate? How might this relate to present-day climate change?