What if we told you that, one day when you die, the carbon inside of you could be used millions of years later as energy to fuel an airplane or operate a power plant?
To understand how this is possible, we must understand what carbon and carbon dioxide are, the role they play on our planet and how they are related to fossil fuels.
Carbon is the building block of all living things
Carbon is a chemical element on the periodic table. It is one of the most abundant elements on Earth, and it exists in solid, liquid and gas form.
It is unique in its ability to bond in a wide variety of shapes with many elements, including itself. When carbon combines with other elements - such as hydrogen, nitrogen and oxygen - it forms molecules. These carbon-based molecules are the basis for all living things.
Fossil fuels are major sources of carbon dioxide emissions
When living things die, the carbon inside them remains in the environment in the form of fossil fuels: coal, oil and natural gas.
Fossil fuels are carbon-containing, non-renewable energy sources. They power our everyday lives, from the gas in our cars to the electricity that keeps our lights on. They are also one of the main sources responsible for carbon dioxide emissions.
We often hear that carbon emissions are bad for the environment. It’s important, however, to distinguish that “carbon emissions” is really shorthand for carbon dioxide emissions.
Carbon dioxide helps regulate Earth’s temperature
Carbon dioxide (abbreviated as CO2) is a colorless, odorless gas that forms when one carbon atom bonds with two oxygen atoms.
Carbon dioxide is part of the air that we breathe. Every time we exhale, we release this gas as a byproduct of our body’s metabolism.
Carbon dioxide is also essential to plant life. Plants take in CO2, break it down into carbon and oxygen, release the oxygen into the atmosphere and retain the carbon as an energy source.
Carbon dioxide plays a key role in regulating the Earth’s temperature. CO2 in the atmosphere, along with other gases, traps heat which would otherwise escape from Earth’s system. This process keeps our planet at a stable and livable temperature.
Rising CO2 levels are contributing to climate change
For a long time, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere remained relatively the same.
However, over the last century, our world has become increasingly dependent on fossil fuels as a source of energy. The more often fossil fuels are used, the more carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere.
This extra carbon dioxide from fossil fuels has caused our atmosphere to trap more heat than usual, leading to warmer temperatures worldwide.
Renewable energy can help reduce carbon emissions
The effects of this increase in atmospheric CO2 are already noticeable, but it’s not too late to prevent this problem from worsening.
By switching to renewable energy sources like wind and solar power instead of fossil fuels, we can start to reduce carbon dioxide emissions and maintain a stable environment on Earth.
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