The carbon cycle is the process in which carbon travels from the atmosphere into organisms and the Earth and then back into the atmosphere. In the atmosphere, carbon is attached to some oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide. Plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to make their own food and grow. Carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere, Without it and the other greenhouse gases,The Earth would be a frozen. But people have burned so much fuel that there is about 30% more carbon dioxide in the air today than there was about 150 years ago, and Our Planet is becoming a warmer place. According to co2.earth our global PPM is 408.35 and that tells us how much Carbon we are putting out. If you’re wondering what our ppm should be our global PPM should be at 350. We took this quiz to figure out our carbon footprint and my CO2 emissions in tonnes per year was 8.5 and the Number of Earths needed to sustain my lifestyle is 3.3 Earth's and the number of tree seedlings needed to offset that amount 220. My overshoot day is April 21st, whereas the average American’s overshoot day would be March 14th The average person in Italy’s overshoot day would be May 13th. For one homework assignment we read a page from a book called Raising Elijah and Sandra Steingraber had three ideas on how we can emit less CO2 and those three ideas were Plant a garden, Use a clothes line, and Don’t use a gas-powered lawn mower. I agree with the plant a garden and don’t use a lawn mower because those were pretty doable whereas using a clothes line was an inconvenience and just a very difficult adjustment. Three ways we could reduce our CO2 level is taking public transportation but if that’s too much for you consider riding your bike on the nice days that way you don’t emit any CO2 into the air and you save money on parking, it’s a win win!!!! Another way you can emit less CO2 is eating less red meat. Traditional red meat comes from ruminant livestock such as cattle and sheep, those animals produce large amounts of methane which is a greenhouse gas hat packs 72 times the punch of CO2 over a 20 year period. The last way you can emit less CO2 is Recycling of course!!! By buying used products and reselling or recycling items you no longer use, you reduce your carbon footprint from the provision of goods.
In order to decrease our global ppm we need to figure out a way to absorb CO2. If you have empty yards try spicing it up with by planting a garden, planting a garden is one way we can decrease our global ppm considering the fact that plants absorb CO2. Ever consider purchasing artificial trees for your yard? While the leaves look plastic and papery they are actually covered in resin which contains sodium carbonate, which pulls CO2 out of the air and stores it as a bicarbonate or as we know, baking soda onto the leaf. Did you know that 1 artificial tree can remove one tonne of carbon dioxide a day? One more Idea is something called a Carbon Scrubber and it is exactly what it sounds like. What it does is seek and capture, Scrubber devices have been fitted to chimneys in different projects around the world so that the greenhouse gas produced during fossil fuel burning can be removed from the exhaust emissions.
PAST - ( 2017 408.42) PRESENT - (2018, 408.35) FUTURE - (2068, 350)
Conclusion- I hope after reading this you leave knowing that our world is in danger because of us and we are the only ones who can fix it. I’m pretty sure that we can lower our Carbon footprint by the year 2068 THAT’S 50 YEARS PEOPLE!!! The consequences of global warming are nothing but catastrophic if our global ppm continues to increase we’re going to suffer major consequences like, Dirtier air because rising temperatures also worsen air pollution by increasing ground level ozone, which is created when pollution from cars, factories, and other sources react to sunlight and heat, Higher wildlife extinction rates, More acidic oceans the earth's marine ecosystems are under pressure as a result of global warming, Higher sea levels because the average temperatures in the Arctic are rising twice as fast as they are elsewhere on earth, and the ice sheets are melting very fast. I’m sure we all don’t want to suffer from something that could’ve been prevented so let’s get it together guys!!!! CITATIONS - RDC Are the Effects of Global Warming Really that Bad? July 25, 2017
March 25, 2018, Melissa Denchak. China Carbon Scrubber, China Carbon Scrubber Manufacturers, China carbon scrubber, March 25, 2018. Duluth News Tribune, Real or artificial? Fascinating facts about Christmas trees, November 25, 2017, Don Kinzler. Garden Design Ideas, small simple home garden ideas | 42, March 25, 2018 Fruityhealing.com, Breaking News! WHO declares meat causes cancer and ALDI…, October 27, 2015. Ecological Footprint Calculator, How many planets does it take to sustain your lifestyle?, March 25, 2018. Desmos.com, Explore math with Desmos., March 25, 2018. The Carbon Cycle, March 25, 2018.