Carbon Cycle Activity

Carbon cycle activity gives us a general idea of the carbon stores and exchanges between the biosphere, geosphere, hydrosphere and atmosphere of the earth, which gives us insight into what humans are doing to cause global warming.

The carbon cycle is the process by which carbon travels between the atmosphere, land, the oceans and the sediments below ground (where fossil fuels are stored).

Carbon naturally cycles through all of these areas seasonally because of different chemical, biological, geological and physical processes. Most of us are well aware of the human impacts on the carbon cycle, resulting in more carbon being released into the atmosphere, thus causing global climate change.

Carbon cycle activity is happening all the time. One basic example is photosynthesis. Plants take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen, thus transferring carbon from the atmosphere into the biosphere, where it stays until the plant dies.

Then the carbon is released back into the atmosphere. In fact, government reports say that the estimated 320 million large trees that were damaged or destroyed during Hurricane Katrina in 2005 have released large amounts of carbon back into the atmosphere, making the storm a contributor to future global warming.

Carbon cycle activity can also happen for many other reasons, such as:

• Respiration of plants, which releases carbon dioxide
• Growth of sea life, which takes carbon from the atmosphere
• Weathering of silicate rock happens with the help of carbonic acid, and the resulting bicarbonate ions end up in the ocean
• Combustion of organic material
• Decay of organic material
• Production of cement, which is produced by heating limestone, releasing carbon dioxide
• The warming of the ocean
• Volcanic eruptions
• Humans and other animals eating plants and animals
• Burning biomass, such as in forest fires or using wood for heating
• Using fossil fuels as fuel

As you can see, there are many ways that carbon can move around the system, and not all of them are harmful or controllable.

The problem comes with the carbon-altering activities that humans take part in, such as the burning of fossil fuels and other biomass, which puts more carbon into the atmosphere, causing the greenhouse effect.

This in turn affects other parts of the carbon cycle, for instance by making the oceans warmer, which causes yet more carbon to be released into the atmosphere. It's easy to see how human activity, once it reaches a tipping point, can cause such a dramatic change to the natural cycle of things that we will be unable to correct it.

Clearly more people need to be committed to making changes that reduce their carbon footprints, or the amount of carbon they personally are releasing into the atmosphere from heating, cooling and lighting their homes, driving or riding to work, taking trips by airplane, even running their computers.

We can strive to become carbon neutral by reducing our contributions to greenhouse gasses as much as possible and then buying credits (also known as carbon offsets) to make up for the carbon we are putting into the atmosphere. Such credits might go toward planting enough trees to take your carbon out of the atmosphere, or they might be an investment in alternative energy sources.

Paying attention to how much carbon you as an individual are responsible for putting into the environment can allow you to see your role in global climate change. While you might not think the actions of one person buying offsets and reducing consumption can make a big difference, remember that there are a lot of one persons out there making the same changes you are.

Together, all the people who pay attention to their effect on the carbon cycle and how they can reduce that come together to make a big difference to the health of the planet.

• Ways to Prevent Global Warming
• 50 Specific Actions of Green Living
• Examples of Sustainable Development

• United States Recycling Statistics
• Types of Pollution
• Air Pollution Statistics
• Effects of Water Pollution
• Advantages and Disadvantages of Biofuels

• Impacts of Environmental Degradation
• What is Carbon Neutral
• Types of Pollution
• List of Renewable Resources
• Carbon Credits