Carbon Emissions

Carbon is one of the most important elements known to man. It is the most abundant element in the earth’s core and due to its ability to bond with other elements to forms molecular chains it is known to be present in some ten million compounds.

Almost all living and man made things contain carbon, including people. When it is mixed with nitrogen and sulphur it forms proteins and amino acids, and when phosphorus is added to these elements it forms DNA and RNA, the stands which make up our very existence. When mixed with oxygen it forms CO2, the fuel for all plant life and mixed with hydrogen it forms fossil fuels. It is one of the most critical elements in our world today, but it is also one of the biggest issues currently facing society.

Rising carbon emissions are one of the major contributors to global warming and it’s is now critical that we reduce the amount of carbon emissions which we produce, whether that be at home or at work.

Carbon is all part of a cycle. Scientists believe that the carbon cycle is a closed system, and define this as “there being a fixed amount of carbon in the world and it must all be held somewhere.”

It is either tied up in the atmosphere, the biosphere, the oceans or sediments. The following shows how each area contributes to the cycle in terms of returning carbon to the cycle or removing it.