Deforestation and Habitat Loss

The major cause of the change in levels is the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil and natural gas). This releases extra carbon dioxide that has been hidden underground for millions of years, and it is this extra CO2 that is causing global warming.

The Amazon rainforest should be protected due to its critical role in preserving biodiversity, regulating the climate, and supporting indigenous communities. Exploitation of the rainforest can lead to irreversible damage and loss of these vital resources. A sustainable approach that balances conservation and development is necessary to ensure the long-term health of the Amazon region.

"Deforestration" is the act of clearing or destroying forests, often for agricultural or commercial purposes. This can have negative impacts on the environment, including loss of wildlife habitat, disruption of ecosystems, and contribution to climate change.

Biofuel production does not increase carbon dioxide levels. Biofuel comes from recently grown vegetation of many kinds. When the vegetation grew earlier in the season it took carbon dioxide out of the air. When the biofuel is extracted and burnt that same carbon dioxide is released into the air again. There is no increase of carbon dioxide. Biofuel is carbon neutral.

This is the problem with fossil fuels, who took carbon from the air many millions of years ago. Suddenly releasing this now is adding to the greenhouse gas levels and causing global warming.

Human activities contribute to CFCs in the atmosphere by releasing them through products like refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and foam-blowing agents. When these products are used and disposed of improperly, CFCs can be released into the air, where they break down ozone in the stratosphere. This ozone depletion can lead to increased ultraviolet radiation reaching the Earth's surface, with harmful effects on human health and the environment.

Trees, including oak, maple, pine, and spruce, absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and release oxygen as a byproduct. This process helps to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and provides oxygen essential for human and animal life.

Because you might not be able to breathe in the high or low carbon dioxide because it really depends if you are use to it or not but you maybe be able to take it for other reasons.

Human activities are the leading causes for Mangrove destruction. A great deal of mangrove forests are being "converted" (destroyed and replaced) due to development for aquaculture (raising aquatic animals for humane resources). Raising populations means raising food demand; shrimp, tilapia, and salmon are common aquaculture "products". It's estimated that shrimp farming alone has resulted in over 1/4 of mangrove destruction.

Lumber and demand for wood products is another threat. Millions of acres of mangrove forest are cut down each year to supply papermills.

Mangroves are a biodiversity "hotspots" and very valuable to the world's ecological well-being.

The best thing we can do as individuals to help is eat less fish products (to avoid supporting the development and destruction of forests) and use less paper products.

Co2 thickens the atmostphere above us, and by doing this, it traps more of the heat that enters the earth. Because the layer becomes thick, the earth is not able to bounce off as much heat as it does naturally, which leads to the earth heating up, which we call global warming

Monera, which are single-celled organisms like bacteria, archaea, and cyanobacteria, can be found in a wide variety of habitats. They are found in soil, water (freshwater and marine environments), air, and even extreme environments like hot springs, ice caps, and deep-sea hydrothermal vents. Their ability to adapt to diverse habitats is a key factor contributing to their widespread distribution.

Sequoias and redwoods have thick, fire-resistant bark that helps them survive low-intensity fires. In a moderate or severe fire, these trees can still be damaged or killed, but they have adaptations like deep roots and high canopy crowns that increase their chances of survival. After a fire, these trees can resprout from the base or from latent buds in their trunks, allowing them to regenerate and continue growing.

A forest fire will ALWAYS stop. Furthermore forest fires, usually caused by lightning, are a natural part of the wilderness. In fact several plant species benefit from fires as part of their life cycle. Nothing. Forest Fires are a natural occurence. The scary question is what will happen if hippies keep trying to prevent forest fires! Massive loss of life, massive loss of property, environmental damage, etc; have all happened, and will happen on a much larger scale of controlled burns are not practiced in forested and inhabited areas.

Carbon reclamation is the process of recovering and reusing carbon-based materials, such as inorganic carbon or carbon dioxide, to reduce waste and environmental impact. This can involve capturing carbon emissions from industrial processes and converting them into useful products or storing them underground to prevent them from entering the atmosphere and contributing to climate change.

Girdling disrupts the flow of nutrients and water from the roots to the leaves, leading to starvation and dehydration in the upper parts of the tree. Without these essential resources, the tree eventually dies due to the inability to support its metabolic functions.

- Exhaustion of the fossil fuels reserves

- Energetic crisis

- Destruction of our planet Earth

- Wars for energetic resources (as the wars of United States and Israel against Muslim countries)

1. Human activities such as burning fossil fuels and deforestation release excess carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
2. Natural processes like volcanic eruptions and decomposition also contribute to the carbon cycle.
3. The ocean absorbs and releases carbon dioxide, influencing the balance of carbon in the atmosphere.
4. Land use changes, such as agriculture and urbanization, can impact the storage and release of carbon in vegetation and soil.

An object that has a high albedo is one that is highly reflective, but a poor absorber. An object that has a low albedo is one that does not reflect well, therefore, is a good absorber. This means that a black object has low albedo.

During that period, carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere were around 180-280 parts per million (ppm), which is similar to pre-industrial levels. The fluctuation in CO2 concentrations over time has been linked to natural factors like volcanic activity and changes in Earth's orbit and axial tilt.

Hiking can destroy the natural environment by causing erosion on trails, trampling vegetation, disturbing wildlife habitats, and leaving behind litter and waste. Overuse of trails can lead to soil compaction and loss of biodiversity in delicate ecosystems.

The greenhouse effect is simply the atmosphere's ability to retain heat. This is caused by gases, which we call greenhouse gases. These gases trap heat, rather like greenhouses trap heat to help grow plants in cold climates.

All trees and different types of vegetation can. The trees and plants don't store all of the carbon dioxide for years because some plants die, and some trees drop leaves in the fall. What happens is in the summer when the trees get new leaves and grow more wood in the form of branches and a larger trunk, then they store a lot of carbon dioxide. However, in the fall, when the leaves fall and they decompose, a portion of the carbon dioxide is released back into the atmosphere. The majority of the carbon dioxide is stored, or sequestered, in the wood of the trees and the remaining parts of the plants (such as stems, roots). That is until they are consumed by rotting, or decomposing, or by being burned. Then the carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere once more. Since trees live a very long time, a lot of carbon dioxide is stored for a very long time.

Deforestation can lead to increased infiltration in the short term due to reduced interception by trees. However, over time, deforestation can lead to soil compaction, reduced organic matter, and increased runoff, which can decrease infiltration rates. Overall, the impact of deforestation on infiltration can vary depending on the specific conditions of the area.

A high carbon footprint can contribute to climate change by increasing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. This can lead to negative consequences such as more frequent and severe natural disasters, rising sea levels, and disruption to ecosystems. It can be dangerous for both the environment and human populations in the long run.

The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is increasing each year. We have stations carefully tracking CO2 concentration changes. The value swings up and down seasonally, as northern hemisphere plant foliage dies in the fall and begins growing in the spring and summer. But the overall trend is upward, as humans pump more CO2 into the air each year from fossil sources than the earth can absorb.

CO2 naturally rises and falls, and over the past 800,000 years the levels have varied from 250 to 290 ppm, generally swinging up or down about 5 ppm per thousand years. 7000 years ago CO2 was at 260 ppm. By only 5000 years ago it had risen to 270 and it was at 280 ppm 3000 years ago.

In 1700 it was again at 280 ppm, but by 1900, in just two short centuries, it rose to 290 ppm. That was 10 times faster than the natural historic change. Still, not a huge concern. At that rate of growth we would not have exceeded 350 ppm (what many scientists consider a maximum sustainable level) for centuries to come.

But we began increasing our consumption of fossil fuel, so that from 1900 to 1950 CO2 rose another 10 ppm, to 300. By 1958 it had risen to 315 ppm--15 ppm in under a decade, and it has continued accelerating in the intervening decades. We are now pushing 400 ppm, and will exceed 500 ppm before 2050.