'How to Grow a Planet' was a very compelling and informative documentary film. Many interesting concepts were covered that I absorbed quite well.
In ancient times earth was covered by trees that dominated the landscape. The climate was warm and the Arctic and Antarctica were iceless. This was a period when dinosaurs ruled the land and grazed on grasses, shrubs, and trees. A living example of a remnant part of this once expansive forest sets in the Kasigau cloud forest in East Africa. This is the oldest forest that remains on planet earth. Lain Stewart, the narrator and scientist who hosts this program brings the viewer into the depths of this old growth forest. During his descent he records the light levels that diminish drastically every ten meters. This proves that these expansive canopies shield most of the light trying to hit the ground and beneath these canopies are the first grasses ever documented on earth. Stewart shows the viewer a piece of fossilized dinosaur poop that has the residue of Matlieatus grass inside of it. This is the original family of grasses that the dinosaurs used to graze on 66 million years ago.
Although grass had a humble beginning being hidden underneath the tress, it would eventually become the most dominant force on the planet that would shape plant and animal heritage. In order for plants to breathe and live on, carbon dioxide must be present in the atmosphere. Through photosynthesis, plants take in carbon and water and make sugars to promote their survival. However, about 50 million years ago the mountain building events occurred all over the planet. Exposed rock was washed away from rainfall, swept away by rivers, and ended up in the sea. The most notable of these mountain ranges were the Himalayas and these created limestone that sucked the carbon out of the atmosphere and placed into this new rock form. This was very threatening to plant life, but through their evolution, resilience, and ability to overcome...