Ben+Taiman

  //What is the role of CO2 in climate change? //




Carbon Dioxide is an odorless, colorless gas discovered in the 1750’s by Scottish Chemist and Physician Joseph [|Black]. Carbon Dioxide consists of one carbon atom double bonded to two oxygen atoms. It is essential to plant and human life in many different ways. CO2 is what keeps the planet at a comfortable temperature for living. But too much CO2 also has a negative affect on climate change. Carbon Dioxide is a heat-trapping gas that is found in the earth’s [|atmosphere]. CO2 is a polyatomic molecule that has vibration and rotation modes that makes it a good absorber of infrared energy. When the sun gives off energy to the earth, the radiation heats the earth and then the heat moves across the atmosphere through conduction, convection, evaporation, and [|infrared radiation]. Then the energy is absorbed by the Carbon Dioxide in the air.



 [|"And it is in fact changing in the direction towards being more like Venus, more **CO2** (carbon dioxide) in the atmosphere, higher temperatures. I’m not saying the Earth will ever become as extreme as Venus, but it’s moving in that direction.]" -Professor Fred Taylor, Oxford University  CO2 is transparent to the visible radiation given off as the energy travels from the sun to earth, but when the earth returns the energy, it is in the invisible infrared area of the heat absorbing spectrum. The radiation is the most intense at wavelengths close to the principal absorption band of the carbon dioxide spectrum. Therefore a lot of infrared radiation is absorbed resulting in a carbon dioxide cover over the earth that prevents radiation escaping to space. The process is very important because CO2 is a [|heat-trapping] compound that is absorbed by bands. If there is less CO2 that is emitted, the climate will stay the same.

media type="youtube" key="5zLuqSYF68E" height="381" width="479" Over the past few decades, the amount of CO2 released into our atmosphere has been dramatically increasing. In 1958, the [|ppm] (parts per million) of the atmosphere was 314. Today, the p pm is 335; it is expected to reach almost 600 within the next century. Before the industrial era (and the emission of CO2 into the atmosphere) the ppm of CO2 was 290. According to R.D. Cess, from the State University of New York, “Since CO2 is an infrared-active gas, increases in its atmospheric concentration would lead to a larger infrared opacity for the atmospheric which, by normal logic, would result in a warmer Earth.”



CO2 is a [|greenhouse gas]. Our earth is enclosed by a layer of these greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases absorb infrared radiation, or heat, that is radiated off from earth. Instead of losing the heat, the gases trap it, thus raising the temperature of the atmosphere. Because we release over 5 billion tons of carbon into the atmosphere each and every year, the global atmospheric level of CO2 has been consistently increasing. Thus, the temperature is rising faster and faster. It is kind of like a human being bundling up in the winter. The more coats, jackets, and layers ( greenhouse gases ) they put on, the more body heat that will be retained. The more heat that is retained, the warmer the human (atmosphere) becomes.

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Greenhouse gases are not all bad though, they are actually essential to life on earth. Without the naturally occurring gases, earth’s temperature would be nearly 33 degrees Celsius cooler; there would not be human life. The greenhouse effect is the //extra// gases that go into the atmosphere, the gases that are not entirely needed to keep earth’s temperature at a normal level. There is so much CO2 and other greenhouse gases being emitted into the atmosphere, by the year 2030, the global temperature of the earth is expected to have risen by 3 degrees Celsius.



Works Cited Barron, Eric J. __Search and Discovery__. 20 Apr. 2008. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.searchanddiscovery.net/document/2008/08048barron/barron.pdf>. Brahic, Catherine. "Climate myths: Human CO2 emissions are too tiny to matter - environment - 16 May 2007 - New Scientist." __Science news and science jobs from New Scientist - New Scientist__. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn11638>. "Carbon Dioxide | Climate Change - Greenhouse Gas Emissions | U.S. EPA." __U.S. Environmental Protection Agency__. 9 Sept. 2008. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html>. "Carbon dioxide." __Water treatment & Air Purification systems__. 1998-2004. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.lenntech.com/carbon-dioxide.htm>. "CO2 quotes - quotesea.com." __Home - quotesea.com__. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.quotesea.com/Quotes.aspx?with=CO2>. Hardt, Marah, and Carl Safina. "&raquo; Covering Ocean Acidification: Chemistry and Considerations." __The Yale Forum on Climate Change & The Media__. 24 June 2008. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.yaleclimatemediaforum.org/2008/06/covering-ocean-acidification-chemistry-and-considerations/>. "Increased atmospheric carbon dioxide and climate feedback mechanisms." __SAO/NASA ADS: ADS Home Page__. 1982. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1982eras.nasa...28C>. Kandel, Robert. __Our Changing Climate__. New York: McGraw Hill, 1990. Novak, Gary. "Nitty Gritty Perspective on Global Warming—the CO2 Absorption Spectrum." __Science is Broken. Motive driven science in conflict with evidence and rationality.__ 23 Mar. 2009 <http://nov55.com/ntyg.html>. Plass, Gilbert N. "Carbon Dioxide and Climate: Scientific American." __Science News, Articles and Information | Scientific American__. 4 Dec. 2008. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=carbon-dioxide-and-climate>. Revkin, Andrew. __Global Warming, Understanding the Forecast__. Abbeville P, 1992. __ York University | [Centre for Atmospheric Chemistry] __. 26 Jan. 2006. 23 Mar. 2009 <http://www.cac.yorku.ca/intro.html>.

<span style="line-height: 200%; font-size: 12pt; text-align: center; display: block; color: rgb(255, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(128, 0, 0);"> Credits This WikiSpace was researched and constructed by Ben Taiman and Doris Lin. Doris: First 2 paragraphs, half the pictures, Works Cited Ben: Final 3 paragraphs, half the pictures, videos, and color