What are Carbon Emissions and Why Do They Matter? A Simple Explanation.
From reading the news to product descriptions, you start seeing the term “carbon emissions” everywhere. So what does it mean? “Carbon” refers to carbon dioxide, sometimes just written as “CO2.” Carbon dioxide is a gas that is sometimes let into our atmosphere from our human activities (“emissions”). These gases can trap heat in the atmosphere and are called greenhouse gases.
Quick science lesson: CO2, formerly written as CO2, is short-form for carbon dioxide. The “C” means there is one carbon atom, and the “O2” means the carbon is attached to 2 oxygen atoms.
So, so what? There is gas in the atmosphere. There is also natural gas in the atmosphere, so why are we concerned? Let’s find out.
What is Human Created CO2?
Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions are gases in the atmosphere, also referred to as greenhouse gases. Merriam-Webster defines emissions as “substances discharged into the air.” CO2 is the primary greenhouse gas emitted through human activities.
In 2021, 79% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from human activities were attributed to CO2 (Source: epa.gov). The most significant human contributor to the gas is the burning of fossil fuels for energy and transportation. The fossil fuels are from coal, natural gas, and oil. These are mainly used for energy (think lights and appliances in your house) and transportation (think about car gasoline and diesel). Many industrial processes also create CO2 through chemical reactions in their production process.
What is Naturally Created CO2?
Natural CO2 can come from some animals belching. Really! In addition to that, it comes from decomposing vegetation, naturally burning fires, or gas and evaporation coming out from the ocean.
On the opposing side of creating CO2, there is something natural called “sinks” that remove the CO2. The Earth is so fabulous. These “sinks” suck up this gas removing it from the atmosphere. This happens with photosynthesis (plants eat it), absorption from the ocean, or in the creation of soil (think compost) (Source: climate.gov). This is like saying the natural process is “carbon neutral” - it does not emit any more carbon than it can absorb back in the “sinks.” Some of these naturally occurring CO2 gases also stay in the atmosphere, and that is what keeps our planet from freezing (like a blanket).
So wouldn’t it be great if the plants and soil kept eating all of our extra human CO2 also? Unfortunately, that is not the case.
Why are Cabon Emissions Concerning?
While carbon emissions have naturally existed on the earth forever, our addition of human-created carbon emissions is too much for the environment's “sinks” to remove all the excess from the atmosphere. This means the CO2 gasses are emitted and stay in our atmosphere as greenhouse gases.
And what is wrong with this? Greenhouse gases cause the “greenhouse effect.” If you have never been inside a greenhouse, they are warm like a blanket. This greenhouse effect has kept our planet livable and warm for humans rather than freezing. So, this blanket is good, but not if the blanket becomes thicker. The earth functions at the current temperature. This increased greenhouse effect causes the earth’s temperature to rise. When the temperature rises, it can result in:
Extreme weather events
Rising sea levels
Change in ocean currents
More forest fires
Shortage of water supplies
(Source: Global and European Dynamics)
Conclusion
If we don’t understand how excess carbon emissions are impacting our planet and its sustainability, it is hard to make changes in our daily lives. After learning about carbon emissions, I better understand why we do so many things like limit our electricity use, walk instead of drive, conserve water, look into manufacturing processes, etc. Each of these impacts the amount of our carbon emissions and can harm our planet's sustainability. I hope this summary helped you as well.
If you have something more to add, please comment below!
A skit about what carbon neutral means in regard to company carbon emissions and sustainability.
