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Are Carbon Emissions Good Or Bad For Our Environment?

Carbon Emissions: Good Or Bad?

In this lesson, we will explore what are carbon emissions, where do they come from, and whether or not carbon emissions (carbon dioxide) is good or bad for our environment.

What are Carbon Emissions?

Carbon emissions are the release of carbon, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane, into the atmosphere. They are one of the major causes of global warming!

Where do carbon emissions come from?

Generally, carbon emissions come from natural resources through the carbon cycle. However, the majority of carbon is mostly released from human activities, such as fossil fuel burning (natural gas, coal, and oil).

Are carbon emissions good or bad for our environment?

  • Carbon emissions are somewhat good for the environment’s atmosphere and help with the greenhouse effect, in which gases, like carbon dioxide, trap light and heat in the Earth’s surface. The natural carbon cycle, in which carbon is continuously released and absorbed, keeps carbon from being overly released or absorbed.
  • However, humans have disrupted the cycle’s balance by releasing more carbon into the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels and reducing the absorption of carbon by cutting forests, also known as deforestation. Thus, carbon emissions have exceeded their natural output, are bad for the environment, and lead to global warming.
  • With more carbon in the atmosphere, Earth traps more heat, and the temperatures rise. Due to this, the heat and sunlight are stronger, which cause higher rates of skin cancer and could potentially change ecosystems. Not only that, the world’s ocean currents would be disrupted. These are the effects of climate change, which is caused by global warming. We are experiencing climate change!
  • Because the excess of carbon emissions in the atmosphere cause climate change, there are some plant and animal species that cannot survive the erratic weather. There will also be more droughts and storms, due to the disruption of ocean currents. As a result, our nature will slowly be destroyed through storms. Also, coastal cities may be buried under water with rising sea levels, while land cities may experience more droughts and floods.

Why we should lower our carbon footprint and lower carbon emissions?

Why Prevent? : Our beloved nature, outdoor aesthetic recreation, economy, health, and populations worldwide will be in danger.

Why Care? We need to protect the world’s resources and nature for both our and future generations. See *How can I help locally?* for how to help!

How can We help Reduce Carbon Emissions? 10 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Footprint

There are many ways you can do to help reduce carbon emissions. Here are 10 fun and environmentally friendly ways you can do to reduce your carbon footprint, including the famous reduce, reuse, recycle, refuse, and rot! 😀

1) Walk or bike instead of riding in a gas-using transportation. Or ride public transportation such as subways and buses to get to your destination! 🙂

2) Use compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of regular ones (150 pounds less CO2 each year).

3) Plant trees because they absorb carbon dioxide.

4) Use cold water in place of hot water (500 pounds less CO2 each year).

5) Compost food! That’s right, composting! Every year, tons of food and products are tossed out, but they can be composted into the soil and dirt to help grow our plants and other foods! Composting is easy and only requires a closed sealable tin, where you can dump your leftovers or food scraps in. Then, when full, you can go to your local compost site to help the environment. Ask your local town for compost sites!

6) Unplug your devices. Yes, that’s right! Even when you’re not using your chargers, your chargers can use up electricity just by sitting there. So, unplug!

7) Line-dry your clothes. Sometimes, we don’t need the dryer to dry our clothes from laundry. Line-dry is an environmentally friendly way to dry out your clothes. In fact, alot of Eastern countries use the wind to dry their clothes this way, too, and it saves a lot of water money too!

8) Eat seasonally and locally produced plants. Plants that are locally produced tend to be grown more organically, and less water was wasted on their growth compared to mass-scale factories and farms. You’ll also be supporting small local businesses, a double plus.

9) Use Less heat and air conditioning. It can get really hot during the summers, but there are great sustainable ways to keep cool too, including swimming outside in the pool and closing off all the lights at home. During winters, dress extra layers to keep warm, and will help you save money and save the environment.

10) Last but not least, Advocate to protect our environment and health to the government. Write letters to Congress, join rallies and environmental justice protests.

What are you waiting for? Act now! 🙂

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