Happy Thought for 13 September 2024

Have a Happy Thought:

In my so-close-to-13 years at Auckland Council, I have sent over 52,000 emails (yes, that is a LOT).

The most important series of these started on July 6th, 2018, when I sent this out to about 10 people:  

  

That's the origin of these friday missives, and hopefully the subject line of these emails makes a little more sense now

On to this week's mind-blowing fact:

Coal, that black substance that kicked off the modern industrial age and is also somehow still a threat as a dud-stocking-gift for bad boys and girls, almost didn't exist. At least, not in anywhere near the abundance we found it.

See, coal is basically super-compressed peat, which is less-compressed-but-not-decomposed trees and other vegetal matter.

Peat bogs today exist because of the lack of oxygen within these local watery environs, and this lack of oxygen slows down or prevents the decay of any plants that fall in. (And sometimes, even preserves animals!)

But most of the coal in the world, including most of what we've already dug out of the ground to power our society, actually formed in a very different way, and a different environment.

See, most of the coal formed in what is called the Carboniferous Period, around 300 million years ago. This was so long ago that the microbes that today help to break down fallen branches and logs and other plantlife... didn't yet exist. 

In other words, large trees and other woody plants had evolved, but nothing yet had evolved to eat them!

This also means that never again will coal be produced on Earth at the rate it was during the Carboniferous Period (and yes, it's called that because of all the carbon that was left lying around on the ground that eventually became coal - which is practically pure carbon).

Speaking of 'pure carbon' - that's what diamonds are made of. Also, the 'lead' in your pencil is actually graphite, which is a type of carbon. And because the structure of graphite is ever so slightly more stable than the structure of diamond... All of our beautiful shiny diamond rings, necklaces, earrings, etc, are slowly turning into graphite. (Don't worry though - this takes millions or even billions of years, so your investment is safe).

You can add this fact to the list of 'things that existed before other things and this blows my mind' such as:

* Sharks existed before Saturn's rings 

* pollinating insects existed before flowering plants

* the egg definitely came before the chicken

Thanks to Rosemary Moscoe, comedian, comic-strip author and science communicator for all of the inspiration. 

PS Thank you to Auckland Council for being a home to me for so long!!!

PPS Don't forget to put your vote in for NZ Bird of the Year - voting closes 5pm on Sunday 15th September, NZ time.