All living things use and store carbon, that’s what we’re made of, and all organic beings have a carbon footprint. If we imagine that living beings, animals, plants, humans have been in existance for millions of years then we know that some of these when they died were buried, crushed and fossilized under ground. Oil, coal and natural gas are all formed from the remains of these fossils (hence the term fossil fuels) and when burnt release large amounts of carbon into the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide.
The Problem
The problem with burning these fuels is that despite CO2 being a natural gas which volcanoes and other natural structures emit into the atmosphere naturally. Our burning of fossil fuels has increased the rate and amount of Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere to levels which we can only describe as unnatural. And the reason we can’t just stop the process is because over 70% of the worlds energy comes from burning these types of fuels and switching to an alternative just won’t happen over night.
Greenhouse Gases
Ok so we’ve established that CO2 is being over produced, but why is that a problem. Well for starters the earth has what we like to call greenhouse gases. Ever been into a greenhouse ? It’s hot, warm and often sticky. Perfect for growing certain types of plants and keeping them warm. Well carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas (it makes up 99% of the earths greenhouse gases) and like all greenhouse gases it absorbs heat from the Sun, helping to keep our planet warm.
In natural amounts the amount of heat absorbed is perfectly acceptable but what happens when we start producing too much carbon dioxide. As you may already have guessed, things start to get hot and will continue to get hotter until eventually life on earth may become unsustainable. Reversing this process and imbalance won’t be easy but it’s the number 1 reason why agreements like the Kyoto Protocol (which hasn’t really worked) and other meetings and initiatives have begun.
The Carbon Cycle
Now to fully understand the effects of Carbon in the atmosphere we need to take a look at the carbon cycle, because this is the cycle that is being thrown off balance and understanding how it works is part of figuring out what needs to be done. So let’s take a look.
Plant Atmosphere Cycle – Plants grow and store huge amounts of carbon as the live. They release abit of this carbon during their life and a little more when they decay and die. These small increments of CO2 release are ok for the environment and keep the earth’s atmosphere stable. Plants are definitely not the problem.
Ocean Atmosphere Cycle – Just like land plants release carbon so do marine plants, algae and various types of bacteria in the sea. Once again CO2 is released slowly as these plants grow and die with some going into the atmosphere and some dissolving into the sea. Once again all natural and perfectly acceptable.
Fossil Fuel Atmosphere Cycle – This cycle is an artificial one and one that’s been introduced by humans. We burn coal, gas, and oil which are made up of millions of years worth of carbon (all sedimented and compressed at the bottom of the sea). When this level of Carbon enters the atmosphere, it enters within seconds and sky rockets the natural levels of carbon in the atmosphere. These human driven cycle of burning fossil fuels throws the natural carbon cycle complete out of balance.
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