Gabriela read in the newspaper that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is increasing and that humans are responsible. She said, "If carbon in the atmosphere is increasing, the total amount of carbon on Earth must also be increasing."

Question

Lance Lucero

Chemistry

6 July, 00:53

Gabriela read in the newspaper that the amount of carbon in the atmosphere is increasing and that humans are responsible. She said, "If carbon in the atmosphere is increasing, the total amount of carbon on Earth must also be increasing."

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Answers (1)

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Zoe Mcconnell · Answer 1

The total carbon on earth is not increasing.

Explanation:

The truth is that human activities is releasing stored up carbon on earth into atmospheric carbon, at a rate that is too fast for it to be absorbed back into other systems. Trees take up a lot of CO2 but now they are felled at an alarming rate and used as fuel, releasing too many carbon. Carbon trapped in long dead organisms are released back from fossil fuels when they are burnt. This and many other examples shows how fast carbon is released into the atmosphere, but the total carbon on earth stays fairly constant.