Carbon Dioxide

Sigrid Arenas
GEOG 300 Global Awareness
Laura Johnson

Carbon Dioxide has been present since the beginning of time and had remained at a constant concentration level under 300ppm. Carbon Dioxide plays an important role in the cycle of life for both plants and animals and due to it being constantly circulated and recaptured by both the oceans and our atmosphere, the levels of concentration naturally increase and decrease with the seasons with the help of photosynthesis and the carbon cycle. CO2 is one of the most famous of the greenhouse gases and due to the advancements in the West, the Industrial Revolution led to expansion of technology and burning of fossil fuels. More CO2 is trapped in our atmosphere and lingers for long periods of time, during these long periods of time the Earth experiences longer warmth periods that bring risks of death to humans, plants, and animals. Warming temperatures are also responsible for changes in our atmosphere and oceans, ocean currents have gotten warmer which allows ice to rapidly melt and for tropical storms to grow larger and stronger each season. There have been many attempts at a global treaty to try to mitigate the entire planet’s carbon footprint, some agreements were more successful than others and there is always the financial aspect of the treaty where developed nations can afford to make the necessary changes and developing nations want to make the changes but cannot afford to do so. The reality is that since developing nations cannot afford clean and renewable energy, they have no other option than to resort to using dirty resources as means to be able to provide basic wants and needs to their citizens.
 
The History of Carbon Dioxide
CO2 – in its gas state – is constantly circulated and recaptured by the oceans and atmosphere, and goes in and out of life forms through a process known as photosynthesis. Photosynthesis essentially combines CO2, the sun’s energy and water and turns it into organic compounds. During the carbon cycle, plans and animals draw in carbon from the soils and the atmosphere as they grow, and later emit carbon into the soils and the atmosphere once they decay (Robbins 143). The changes of CO2 in our atmosphere increase and decrease through both photosynthesis and the carbon cycle; the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere helps with the natural warming and cooling cycles of our Earth, however in the last couple of hundred years, there has been an alarming increase of CO2 emissions in our atmosphere that have continued to grow and break records. The warming transformations that our Earth is currently experiencing do happen naturally, but the warming periods will continue to extend over time and the colder periods will shrink over time, this is due to the fact that the greenhouse gases – such as CO2 – remain in the atmosphere for a long period of time and are responsible for trapping incoming solar radiation and warming up the entire planet. This great news since warming temperatures are known to support life, but at the same time terrible because over time the heat that is trapped is just circulating the Earth and causing global temperatures to rise (Robbins 147). Our entire planet is warming at a much faster rate with the help of all of us, we are the major contributors for the huge increase of warming that is currently happening and will continue to happen in the future. The most effective way to reduce our emissions, is to reduce fossil fuel consumption, which would mean that we would have to pay a closer look at our homes, businesses, industry and transportation (EPA). The problem is that corporations do not care about their own emissions and will not try to reduce their emissions since the alternative will be seen as a big expense for them, everyone wants to spend less money and with that comes dirty energy and usage of dirty resources at the cost of our futures. Other major risks include, warming temperatures causing major outbreaks of diseases we thought were gone – such as more frequent outbreaks of malaria and the spread of malaria to new parts of the world –, the melting of sea ice and continental sheets which are causing sea levels to rise, and with the rise of sea levels comes the risk of wiping out unique ecosystems (Kassam).
 
Approach #1: Risks and Hazards
As previously mentioned, CO2 is a greenhouse gas that has been present since the beginning of time and now more than ever is playing an important role as one of the main contributors of the warming and cooling of our Earth. Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the concentration of CO2 in our atmosphere was well below 300ppm and remained so for hundreds – if not thousands – of years, but it all changed when new technological advancements took over the world (Wilday). During the industrialization of the West, people began to burn oil, gas and coal at alarming rates, during those days the CO2 concentration levels had been contained at about 280ppm (350), civilization as we knew it changed forever with the technological advancements that led to a skyrocketing amount of CO2 in the atmosphere that is now well over 400ppm. As was also previously mentioned, an increase of CO2 in our atmosphere has been tied to increasing global temperatures. Our dynamic Earth is known for its complex climate but one thing is for sure, warming temperatures are causing sea ice and continental ice sheets to melt at alarming rates… there has been an increase of retracting glaciers that will soon disappear off of the face of the planet because the rate of ablation is far greater than the rate of accumulations. The albedo has also changed, whereas before the amount of solar radiation that was bounced back to outer space was far greater than what the earth retained has now decreased which means that now the amount of solar radiation that the Earth sends back is far less than what it used to be and there is more solar radiation trapped in the Earth that is contributing to warmer oceans and melting of polar ice. Warming oceans is especially concerning in areas that already have warm ocean currents, because as we are all aware, warm ocean currents are typically the main fuel that tropical storms need to grow bigger, stronger and more destructive – like hurricane Sandy in the Atlantic –, a warmer and wetter world would bring much more different storms. Increasing temperatures and the spreading of those warming temperatures would mean that climate types – Koppen climates – would change dramatically and warmer climates would also allow for the spread of mosquito populations and cause viruses/vectors to thrive. We have to also take into account the issues we would have when all of our ice melts and sea levels are at an all time high, the coastal areas with lower elevations would be in extreme risk of flooding, there would be major economic crisis and humanitarian crisis in those areas because everything would be flooded and millions of the world’s population would be displaced. We then would have to worry about climate change refugees and where all of the millions of displaced people would go and what kind of protection and aid governments will offer during these difficult times.
 
Approach #2: Political Economy
Greenhouse gases have long been the talk of the town for many developed countries and there have been multiple summits in which the world powers have gathered together with the intention of coming together as a community to do something about climate change. We have seen An Inconvenient Truth and An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power both documentaries follow Al Gore and his environmental journey of educating people on the subject of climate change, and he talks about The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 and The Paris Agreement of 2015. The Kyoto Protocol of 1997 was an international treaty that committed nations who participated at the summit to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions (UNFCCC), the problem with this was the initially the USA had agreed to the terms of the treaty but eventually dropped out and since the USA is a world power, it caused a ripple effect in which other countries also did not adapt to the rules of the signed treaty since they felt it was unfair for them to have to follow the rules and for the USA to not. The other treaty that is mentioned in the documentaries is the Paris Agreement of 2015 which drew a lot of media attention when the finger was pointed at India for holding back the agreement, all of the nations had agreed to move on from using dirty resources – such as coal – and onto new clean energy – such as solar energy – but the problem was that India did not have the money to pay for this new technology and felt like they too deserved the chance to use 150 years of dirty energy and then have the means and technology to adapt to the new changes and have a cleaner environment. India was willing to adapt to the new cleaner energy changes but lacked the finances to do so (Worland). Although this is changing rapidly due to former developing nations are now developed nations that can sustain themselves to a certain degree, no longer is the responsibility of global warming resting on the shoulders for developed nations that were burdened with generations of expenses across the globe in order to sustain and maintain other nation’s afloat (Mathys). We have to think of ways to promote clean living and to better our environment in hopes that generations to come have a better future in which they do not have to concern themselves with protecting species from going extinct due to the effects of climate change but also just to have better lives in general.
 
Conclusion
In conclusion CO2 has been a part of the natural cycle since the very beginning of time but life as we know it changed with the discovery of new resources and technology that led to humans having a strong impact on our dynamic Earth. The CO2 concentration levels were under 300ppm, but that all changed during the Industrial Revolution and now we are well over 400ppm. The alarming rates at which the concentration level rose had many nations calling for a summit in which they all would eventually agree to watch their carbon foot print and move towards a cleaner future that did not promote or involve the use of dirty resources that are bad for our environment. With new emerging developing nations there is always the possibility that they will want to use a cheaper alternative to clean energy, such as coal, so a developed nation has to intervene and provide financial aid. The hope we have for the world is that we as an entire planet can see the terrible impacts of the mistakes that were made in the past and notice how those mistakes are affecting us now and hope that we can learn from that and find solutions to move away from dirty energy and into cleaner energy that is more cost efficient and great for our environment and future. Our dynamic Earth undergoes so many natural changes but it is also fragile to human activities, it is our responsibility for ourselves, our loved ones and for generations to come to leave the Earth better than we found it. Change is hard but our voices our strong and can make big impacts, if we all join together we can make change happen. Al Gore’s documentaries are a way of opening up our eyes to the world around us and are a great way to learn why it’s important that we all care about this issue. While CO2 may not be the only contributor of the greenhouse gases that is causing major shifts in the natural warming and cooling of the Earth, it is one of the gases that is emitted through the burning of fossil fuels and coal –which is mainly used in the East and the cheapest and most abundant resource.
 
 
 
Works Cited
“350 Climate Science Basics.” 350.Org, 350.org/science/#warming.
 
Cohen, Bonni, director. An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power. An Inconvenient Sequel: Truth to Power, 2017, Netflix.com.
 
Guggenheim, Davis, director. An Inconvenient Truth. Paramount Pictures, 2006.
 
Kassam, Ashifa. “Canada's High Arctic Glaciers at Risk of Disappearing Completely, Study Finds.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 17 July 2018, www.theguardian.com/world/2018/jul/18/canadas-high-arctic-glaciers-at-risk-of-disappearing-completely-study-finds.
 
Mathys, Nicole A., and Jamie de Melo. “Political Economy Aspects of Climate Change Mitigation Efforts.” UNIGE, Oct. 2011, www.unige.ch/ses/dsec/repec/files/11101.pdf.
 
“Overview of Greenhouse Gases.” EPA, Environmental Protection Agency, 31 Oct. 2018, www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/overview-greenhouse-gases.
 
Robbins, Paul, et al. Environment and Society: A Critical Introduction. Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.
 
“What Is the Kyoto Protocol?” UNFCCC, unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-kyoto-protocol/what-is-the-kyoto-protocol/what-is-the-kyoto-protocol.
 
Wilday, Jill. “A COMPARISON OF HAZARD AND RISKS FOR CARBON DIOXIDE AND NATURAL GAS PIPELINES.” Semantic Scholar, 2009, pdfs.semanticscholar.org/46cf/52282f20b2f7907357c45d7b38b0192a29fd.pdf.
 
Worland, Justin. “Paris Climate Talks COP 21: Why India Plays a Key Role.” Time, Time, 11 Dec. 2015, time.com/4144843/india-paris-climate-change/.