IN OUR SOLAR SYSTEM. EARTH HAS STAYED LIVABLE, DESPITE NATURAL EVENTS THAT ROBBED NEIGHBORING

PLANETS OF THE ABILITY TO HOST AND SUSTAIN LIFE.

RESEARCHERS SAY THAT'S BECAUSE OF THE GEOLOGIC CYCLES EARTH HAS GONE THROUGH FOR MILLIONS

OF YEARS AND IT'S STILL GOING THROUGH. ON ASSIGNMENT'S PHILIP ALEXIOU TALKED WITH VOA

SCIENCE BLOGGER RICK PANTALEO FOR MORE. CHECK IT OUT.

WHAT'S THE MOST REVEALING PART ABOUT THIS REPORT?

WELL, I THINK TO ME THE MOST REVEALING PART OF IT IS HOW AMAZING NATURAL GEOLOGIC CYCLES

CONTROL THE CLIMATE OF THE EARTH BY THE ABSORPTION AND RELEASE OF CARBON DIOXIDE AND IT'S BEEN

DOING IT FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS. AND IN THIS PARTICULAR STUDY WHAT THEY WOUND UP FINDING

WAS THAT THE ROCKS THAT ARE THE RESULT OF THE UPLIFTING OF THE MOUNTAINS SUCH AS THE

ANDES MOUNTAINS AND THE HIMALAYAS AND SO FORTH THROWS OFF A LOT OF ROCKS AND MINERALS AS

THE MOUNTAINS ARE EMERGING AND THESE ROCKS ABSORB CARBON DIOXIDE. NOW, THE OPPOSITE OF

WHAT WOULD HAPPEN IS IF THE CARBON DIOXIDE, ALL THE CO2 WAS TAKEN AWAY THERE WOULD BE

NO GREENHOUSE EFFECT.

AND WE WOULD ALL FREEZE TO DEATH.

AND WE WOULD ALL FREEZE TO DEATH. WE WOULD BE AS COLD AS MARS. EXCEPT THAT MARS DOES

NOT HAVE AN ATMOSPHERE AND WE DO. BUT, WE WOULD BE COLD. SO, AT THE SAME TIME THAT IT

ABSORBS CO2, ACCORDING TO THE STUDY, THESE ROCKS ALSO SLOWLY RELEASE CO2 BACK INTO THE

EARTH, STORED CO2 IT RELEASES SLOWLY. BUT THIS HAS BEEN GOING ON FOR MILLIONS OF YEARS.

SO SCIENTISTS THEN WANTED TO FIND OUT IF IT WAS UNIQUE BECAUSE THEY WERE IN THE ANDES

MOUNTAINS AREA, THEY WANTED TO FIND OUT IF THIS WAS UNIQUE JUST TO THE ANDES MOUNTAINS

AREA THEY WERE STUDYING, SO THEY DID, CHECK DATA FROM OTHER AREAS SUCH AS THE HIMALAYAS

AND FOUND THAT THIS PHENOMENA IS GLOBAL IN ASPECT. AND THEY ALSO WANTED TO CHECK OTHER

RECORDS TOO SO THEY CHECKED MARINE RECORDS OF OCEAN BLOCKS THAT DATE BACK MILLIONS OF

YEARS, AND KEEP IN MIND IF WE DIDN'T HAVE CO2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE, NO GREENHOUSE EFFECT,

THEN AND NO LIFE ON EARTH.

NOW WHAT HAPPENS FOR EXAMPLE, I DON'T KNOW IF THIS IS RELATED TO THIS REPORT, WHEN SAY

MT. PINATUBO IN THE PHILIPPINES ERUPTS AND SPEWS ASH AND PLUME AROUND THE EARTH AND SCIENTISTS

FROM THE NATIONAL OCEANIC ATMOSPHERIC ADMINISTRATION THEY SAY THAT IT BASICALLY, THAT THAT EVENT

COOLED THE EARTH FOR A WHILE, IS THERE ANY RELATION TO THAT SORT OF EVENT COMPARED TO

WHAT THIS REPORT SAYS.

I WOULD SAY NO. BECAUSE WHAT YOU'RE TALKING ABOUT WITH THE RELEASE OF VOLCANIC ASH, AND

VOLCANIC ASH COULD BE SO FINE, BUT WHAT IT DOES IS IT SORT OF CREATES A SUNSCREEN IN

THE ATMOSPHERE OF FINE ASH AND WHAT HAPPENS IS SUN IS FILTERED OUT AND WHEN YOU'RE FILTERING

SUNLIGHT YOU'RE NOT GETTING THE FULL EFFECT OF THE SUN. ONE OF THE THINGS I ASKED MARK

TORRES WHO IS MATTER OF FACT, THE LEAD AUTHOR OF THE STUDY, I ASKED AND I SAID, YOU KNOW,

WERE THESE NATURAL PROCESSES PLAY WITH MANMADE CO2 SUCH AS WHAT WE ARE EXPERIENCING NOW WITH

THE INCREASE OF CO2 IN THE ATMOSPHERE AND THE WAY HE TOLD ME IS, YEAH, BUT IT'S GOING

TO TAKE A LONG TIME SINCE THE ROCKS AND THE NATURAL PROCESSES TAKES A DIFFERENT TIME TABLE

ALTOGETHER. IT WILL TAKE MILLIONS OF YEARS BUT WE WON'T KNOW IF IT WILL FULLY COUNTERACT

THE CARBON DIOXIDE THAT WE'RE PUTTING OUT.

BUT RIGHT NOW IT'S BALANCED.

WELL. IT DEPENDS ON WHAT SIDE OF THE ARGUMENT YOU ARE ON ON CLIMATE CHANGE BUT RIGHT NOW

IT SEEMS AS THOUGH CO2, ACCORDING TO A LOT OF STUDIES THERE'S A GREAT AMOUNT ACCUMULATING

IN THE ATMOSPHERE.

OUR THANKS TO VOA SCIENCE BLOGGER RICK PANTALEO.

IT'S TIME FOR ANOTHER BREAK. COMING UP: THE PUSH FOR RELIGIOUS FREEDOMS COLLIDES WITH

HEALTH CARE REFORM. YOU'RE WATCHING ON ASSIGNMENT.