The Carbon Cycle (Week 4) - Post 3

The Carbon Cycle - Thoughts 


         This week was the most complicated yet, however I found the information I learned fascinating. I learned about the carbon cycle as a whole, which surprised me greatly as I had not realized how substantial a role carbon plays in our climate, and in our lives. Not only are we partially made of carbon, but so are the oceans, the plants, the rocks, and the air. Going beyond composition, the movement of the carbon is interesting as well. Carbon is exchanged between every aspect of the world in cycles that can range from months to millions of years. The carbon cycle is such a broad thing based on all its effects, but also so intricate, where the weight of each tiny molecule can prove or disprove an entire theory on human emissions. Factors seemingly unrelated to climate science can use the carbon cycle to quite literally stop an ice age. Each week I learn more about climate science, and each week I am happily surprised yet again by the science. I am genuinely enjoying taking this class, and I am learning a lot.
          As this week was focused on the carbon cycle, naturally the course went over the main contributing factors to human carbon emissions: the burning of fossil fuels, the clearing of forests for agriculture, and the ever elusive cement making. These three human activities have been mentioned since the beginning of the course, and both the forests and the fossil fuels have been explained in detail. The only information that I feel the course makers are missing is cement making. I would really like to know how cement making emits carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, and how it amounts to the third largest portion of human emissions.

Comments

  1. Ms. DunleyFebruary 22, 2018 at 10:06 AM

    Cement making? Why is cement making such an issue?

    ReplyDelete
  2. neve stegerFebruary 22, 2018 at 10:55 AM

    Cement is made by heating up limestone. This process, called calcination, releases the carbon previously stored in the rocks into the atmosphere. It is very similar to the reason that burning fossil fuels releases so much carbon into the atmosphere. Both rocks and plants store carbon for long periods of time; when they are burned/heated they release that carbon into the atmosphere, contributing to increasing global atmospheric levels of carbon.

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