Essay On Carbon Cycle

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I. Once, there was a time where the Earth was healthy. There was an abundance of clean air, many plants and animals thrived, and the temperature was cooler. The Industrial Revolution then came, bringing along with it smoke, greenhouse gases, and a significant increase in the Earth’s temperature. This change in temperature is known as global warming, and it causes an particularly serious problem called climate change. Climate change is mainly caused by the high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, thus resulting in an imbalance in the natural carbon cycle, a process in which carbon enters the atmosphere from various sources and leaves through various sinks or reservoirs. Various natural disasters, such as stronger typhoons and…show more content…
Sources and sinks of carbon play an important role in the carbon cycle; there will be consequences if these are disrupted. As previously mentioned, an imbalance in the cycle is caused by a high concentration of greenhouse gases, like carbon and methane, in the atmosphere. The carbon cycle utilizes sinks and reservoirs to balance the amount of carbon in the air. A source of carbon dioxide is the burning of fossil fuels, which is being balanced by the photosynthesis of plants. The carbon from burning excessive amounts of fossil fuels is absorbed by trees in the environment. These fossil fuels include oil, coal, and natural gas. When burned, they emit carbon and release it into the air. Humans have been burning vast quantities of fossil fuels which release the carbon they contain as carbon…show more content…
Some scientists define it as a conversion from forests to agricultural land, while others say that it includes any area that has been logged. Still, there is an estimate of approximately 5 million to 20 million hectares of trees that are being logged annually. The FAO estimates of 12.3 million hectares deforested per year are the most widely accepted (Cunningham, 2009). Forests not only provide oxygen through photosynthesis, but they are also homes for animals, sources of clean water, and as previously mentioned, filters of carbon dioxide. Deforestation causes approximately 2 giga tons of carbon to be released in the air. If forests are continued to be depleted, animals will lose their habitat, clean and natural water will become contaminated, and the carbon will no longer be absorbed due to the lack of

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