• Question: Where do we put all the carbon?

    Asked by 332xygg37 to Gavin, Karen, Mark, Michel, Roisin on 12 Nov 2016.
    • Photo: Mark Kennedy

      Mark Kennedy answered on 12 Nov 2016:

      Right now, we’re putting all of the carbon that we release into the atmosphere. Normally, carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by the trees in our forests, and also by the oceans. But if you have too much CO2 in the air, and not enough trees, then it all just stays in the atmosphere.

      Which is really not good. If you have too much CO2 in the air, then you heat up the planet, and you risk the chance of ruining the planet for life as we know it 🙁

    • Photo: Roisin Jones

      Roisin Jones answered on 13 Nov 2016:

      Carbon is one of the most common elements on earth, and makes up a large part of many things we see around us, including plastics, wood, and animals. It’s also stored in the form of CO2 gas, which is released when we burn fossil fuels (themselves made up of carbon and hydrogen), which is having a bad effect on the environment, in the form of climate change due to global warming, and also by causing acid rain and acidifying the oceans.

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