Category: Carbon Dioxide

There are many consequences for the environment of cutting down trees. Known as deforestation it has huge effects on the environment. It one very big effect is the loss of biodiversity which is a direct effect of cutting down trees. There are many reasons of which humans act out deforestation. For example is so that we can set up cattle farms. Also grow crops of which can then be sold to people. Another reason is for urbanisation and for the building of roads. However what people don’t know as a risk of cutting down trees is that many pharmaceutical companies produce their medicines from resources found in rainforest and so cutting trees down in these areas can mean the lack of useful medicines for western use this is because 25% of western medicine comes from such rainforests. Many balanced cycles rely on tress in order for them to work. Without these cycles can be interrupted and have catastrophic results for the environment. The carbon cycle is one of the cycles of which is greatly affected by trees and the lack of trees would have a very bad effect in many ways. With the cutting down of trees there would be less photosynthesis and therefore there would be less oxygen produced.

Also the lack of trees would mean an abundance of carbon dioxide as there would be no trees to use it up. And the balance of oxygen and carbon dioxide would mean huge amounts of carbon dioxide in the air this would then cause global warming due to the greenhouse effect. There would also be less carbon compounds of which could be provided to animals through the carbon cycle. This would cause death of animals as carbon compounds of which come from trees are key in healthy developing life. Due to the cutting down of trees of which they would then be discarded or use in another way this would halt the normal decay process of which trees go through when the naturally fall and decay. The lack of this process would mean the lack of fossil fuels and the decaying tree would then over millions of years develop into fossil fuel. This could be very bad for the population as it would mean that there would be a lack of fossil fuel.

However you could argue that this could possible not be a very big consequence as the human populations dependence on fossil fuels is too great and which the end of fossil fuels is looming and so this could influence advancements in other areas of fuels and electricity of which the human population could then use and live off of. The Nitrogen Cycle would also be affected if trees were cut down. If there were no trees then there would be more NO3 in the soil as it would not be taken up by plants and trees. This would then mean that there would be more denitrifying bacteria in the soil and this would then leas to more Nitrogen in the atmosphere. Excess Nitrogen in the atmosphere of which can have deadly effects. Burning the felled trees can also contributes to a large amount of nitric oxide in the atmosphere. Nitric oxide can combine with oxygen gas to for nitrogen dioxide, which reacts with water vapour to form a strong acid (nitric acid). This can precipitate out of the atmosphere in the form of the deadly acid rain. The acid can damage trees and kill fish. Because of a lack of trees therewould be no absorption of nitrogen and so plants would lack nitrogen compounds.

These plants of which would then be eaten by animals would then be lacking this compound and so the animals could then die. The greenhouse effect and global warming is a consequence of cutting down trees greatly linked to the disruption in the carbon cycle. Greenhouse gases such as carbon dioxide create a thick layer that absorbs the heat and reflects it back to Earth, rather than leting it be lost to space. This causes the Earth’s climate to change as temperatures go up. This can have many bad effects to the earth. For example this then causes the melting of ice caps. This causes loss of habitat and so the chance of extinction of animals in this area increases. The melting of the ice caps also causes the sea levels to rise and so flooding of low level land occurs. This in turn causes loss of habitats as well as destroys crops. The loss of habitats can then cause less rainfall which then results in droughts and so crops die and create barren land as well as people become ill.

Diversity can also be badly affected by the cutting down of trees. Diversity is the variety of living organisms within a particular area. There are three types of diversity: Genetic, species and ecosystem. There are less trees which means a reduction in diversity of which is specifically species diversity. Species diversity is the number of different species and the number of individuals of each species within any one community. The cutting down of trees also means less habitats and so more completion for these areas and so more animals die. This refers to Ecosystem Diversity; this is the range of different habitats within a particular area. The cutting down of trees also means that due to other diversity reasons the animals die and they also have less breeding areas due to loss of habitats. This reduces reproduction and so the animals do not pass on their genes and so there is then less genetic diversity. Competition is also effected when the cutting down of trees occurs.

This is because the cutting down of trees increases completion for not just habitats but also for food. This lack of resources and therefore increase in competition means that many animals die and they are not able to compete successfully for what they need to live. The loss of trees also could mean the loss of camouflage for many animals of which normally live in and around trees and normally use trees to cover and camouflage themselves. This means that prey cannot hide as easily and so is a lot easier to see for the predator and so the prey is a lot easier to catch changing the competition. However it also mean the prey can see the predators more easily due to the loss of trees and so have more of a chance to get away from the predator of which they did not have before. So in conclusions there are many catastrophic effects of which occur from the cutting down of trees if which all have detrimental effect on the environment that we live in.

Carbon is part of our bodies but it’s also part of our current industries, therefore, Carbon compounds from history plants and algae structure the fossil fuels, such as coal and natural gas, which we use today as energy sources. Hence, when these fossil fuels are burned carbon dioxide is released keen on the air, most important to higher and advanced levels of atmospheric. Furthermore, the increase in level affect earth’s climate and is a main environmental anxiety worldwide. It is also economically important to human’s appearance of fossil fuels. (Rosenthal, Y. Seitzinger, S. Smetacek, V. Steffen, W. (2000)). Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is used by photosynthetic organisms and used to make organic molecules which journey through food chains. Image credit: Biogeochemical cycles: Figure 3 Acordingly, to OpenStax College, Biology, CC BY 4.0; modification of work by John M. Evans and Howard Perlman, USGS

Carbon moves from the atmosphere to plants. Carbon in the atmosphere is attached to oxygen in a gas called carbon dioxide (CO2). Therefore, Carbon dioxide is pulled from the air by plants to produce food through photosynthesis for plant growth. Photosynthesis is a process where plants take in carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O) from the air and soil. Within the plant cell the water loses electrons, while the carbon dioxide is reduced meaning it gains electrons. This transforms the water into oxygen and the carbon dioxide into glucose. The plant then releases the oxygen back into the air and stores energy within the glucose molecules.

However, carbon moves from plants to animals through food chains, the carbon that is in plants moves to the animals that eat them. Animals that eat other animals get the carbon from their food too. Carbon moves from plants and animals to soils. Furthermore, when plants and animals die their bodies, wood and leaves decays bringing the carbon into the ground. Some are buried and will become fossil fuels in millions and millions of years. Carbon moves from living things to the atmosphere. Each time you exhale carbon dioxide gas (CO2) is released into the atmosphere. Animals and plants need to get rid of carbon dioxide gas through a process called respiration.

Accordingly, to Delworth, T. and S. Manabe. [1989], Carbon moves from fossil fuels to the atmosphere when fuels are burned. When humans burn fossil fuels to power factories, power plants, cars and trucks the carbon quickly enters the atmosphere as carbon dioxide gas.

Carbon exists in the air mainly as carbon dioxide gas. Therefore, it dissolves in water and reacts with water molecules to create bicarbonate. Photosynthesis by land plants or bacteria, also algae converts carbon dioxide and bicarbonate into organic molecules. Furthermore, Organic molecules made by photosynthesizes are passed during food chains and cellular respiration converts the Organic carbon flipside into carbon dioxide gas. Enduring storage of organic carbon occur when matter from living organisms is buried deep underground or sinks to the base of the ocean and form sedimentary rock. Volcanic activity moreover, more of late human burning of fossil fuels brings this stored carbon back into the carbon cycle. Even though the formation of fossil fuel happens on a slow geologic time scale, human release of the carbon they have is on a very quick time scale.

Carbon enters all food webs both terrestrial and aquatic, through autotrophs or nature-feeders. However, all of these autotrophs are photosynthesizes, for example plants or algae.

Autotrophs imprison carbon dioxide from the air or bicarbonate ions from the water and utilize them to make organic compounds such as glucose. Heterotrophs, or additional-feeders, such as humans, consume the organic molecules and the organic carbon is conceded through food chains and webs.

Carbon cycle goes back to the atmosphere or ocean to release the energy stored in carbon-containing molecules, for instance sugars, autotrophs with heterotrophs break these molecules break down in a process called cellular respiration. In this process, the carbons of the molecule are on the loose as carbon dioxide. Decomposers too release organic compounds along with carbon dioxide when they break down dead organisms and waste products.

Carbon can cycle rapidly throughout this biological pathway, particularly in aquatic ecosystems. Overall, an estimated 1,000 to 100,000 million metric tons of carbon shift through the biological cycle

The geological pathway of the carbon cycle takes a large amount than the biological pathway described above. Carbon may be stored for extended period of time in the atmosphere, bodies of liquid water typically oceans ocean sediment, soil, rocks, fossil fuels, and Land’s center. The intensity of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is influenced by the reservoir of carbon in the oceans and vice versa. Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in water and reacts with water molecules. J. Freer et el (1995).

Furthermore, carbonate released in this process combines with ions to make calcium carbonate. When the organisms die their remains may sink and eventually become part of the sediment on the ocean floor. Over geologic time, the sediment turns into limestone which is the largest carbon reservoir on Land.

Hence, on land carbon is stored in soil the same as organic carbon from the decomposition of living organisms or as inorganic carbon as of weathering of terrestrial rock and minerals. Deeper under the ground are fossil fuels for example oil, coal, and natural gas which are the leftovers of plants decomposed under anaerobic oxygen free conditions. Fossil fuels take millions of years to structure. When humans burn them carbon is released into the atmosphere as carbon dioxide.

A different way for carbon to enter the atmosphere is by the outbreak of volcanoes. Carbon containing sediments in the ocean floor are taken deep inside the Land in a process called subduction, in which one tectonic plate moves under one more. This process forms carbon dioxide which can be released into the atmosphere by volcanic eruptions or hydrothermal vents.

The greenhouse effect is caused by the increase in the atmosphere of a diversity of greenhouse gases, for instance carbon dioxide and methane. Deforestation has also intended that there are less trees to carry out photosynthesis, and then there is even more carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.

Even though the oceans and forests absorb carbon dioxide, they cannot absorb adequate to lessen the problem. One flight abroad on a summer holiday produce more Carbon dioxide per passenger than the all the take a break of the yearly Carbon dioxide production allocated per person

Global Warming the Greenhouse Effect of these greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide is the one which is most interconnected to human activity, as it is being released in vast quantities by burning fossil fuels.

Solar radiation passes through the atmosphere and is absorbed by the Land’s surface.

This is next re-emitted as heat radiation.

The increasing level of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere are trapping this heat energy and preventing its get away into space.

It is this trapped energy which is raising the Land’s normal temperature. Fossil fuels are considered a nonrenewable resource because they are being used up a lot earlier than they can be produced by geological processes.

When fossil fuels are burned, carbon dioxide is released into the air. Increasing use of fossil fuels has led to important levels of atmospheric. Deforestation the cutting-down of forests is also a major donor to increasing

Human activities can damage the ozone layer and therefore allow more harmful ultraviolet rays to arrive at the Land’s surface.

Refrigerators, plastic foams and aerosol sprays used to include chemicals called chlorofluorocarbons or CFC’s for short.

What matters that there is lot in the atmosphere is a greenhouse gas. When in the atmosphere, it traps heat and keeps it from radiating into space. Ozone is composed of three oxygen atoms. It is present all through the atmosphere except is thickest in a layer called the ozone layer, at a height of 25km above sea level.

If this radiation reaches the land, it can cause extensive harm to living organisms.

It can result in skin cancer and waterfall formation in the eyes.

The ozone layer absorbs harmful ultraviolet radiation from the Sun. Also, while uptake of surplus carbon dioxide by the oceans might seem fine from a greenhouse gas outlook, it may not be good at all from the perspective of sea life. So, dissolving more carbon dioxide in water causes the water to become more acidic. More acidic water can, in turn, decrease concentrations and make it harder for marine organisms to build and uphold their shells of increasing temperatures and higher acidity can harm sea life and have been associated to coral bleaching.

Nitrogen is one of the most important elements in the chemistry of living creatures, it makes up about 78% of Land’s atmosphere by volume, far surpassing the oxygen we often think of as ‘air’. (Vitousek, P. M.; Menge, D. N. L.; Reed, S. C.; Cleveland, C. C. (2013)

Image credit: modified from Nitrogen cycle by Johann Dréo (CC BY-SA 3.0); the modified image is licensed under a CC BY-SA 3.0 license

But having nitrogen around and being able to make use of it are two different things, the growth of all organisms depends on the availability of mineral nutrients, nitrogen is the most important nutrient. The nitrogen cycle traces the path of nitrogen, in many different chemical forms, through the environment and living organisms. plants and animals, have no good way to convert it into a usable form. Plants and animals just don’t have the right enzymes to capture, or fix, atmospheric nitrogen.

Still, nitrogen is part of amino acids, the building blocks of proteins. And nitrogen comes from bacteria.

Nitrogen enters the living world by way of bacteria and other single-celled prokaryotes, which convert atmospheric nitrogen into biologically usable forms in a process called nitrogen fixation. Nitrogen fixation is the process by which atmospheric nitrogen is converted by either a natural or an industrial means to a form of nitrogen such as ammonia. Some species of nitrogen-fixing bacteria are free-living in soil or water, while others are useful symbionts that live within of plants.

Nitrogen-fixing microorganisms imprison atmospheric nitrogen by converting it to ammonia {NH} which can be in use by plants and used to make organic molecules. The nitrogen-containing molecules are passed to animals when the plants are eaten. They may be built-in into the animal’s body or broken down and excreted as waste, for example the urea found in urine.

Prokaryotes play several roles in the nitrogen cycle. Nitrogen-fixing bacteria in the soil and inside the root nodules of some plants convert nitrogen gas in the atmosphere to ammonia. Nitrifying bacteria convert ammonia to nitrites or nitrates. Ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates are all fixed nitrogen and can be absorbed by plants. Denitrifying bacteria converts nitrates back to nitrogen gas.

Nitrogen gas from the atmosphere is fixed into organic nitrogen by nitrogen-fixing bacteria. This organic nitrogen enters terrestrial food webs. It leaves the food webs as nitrogenous wastes in the soil. Ammonification of this nitrogenous waste by bacteria and fungi in the soil converts the organic nitrogen to ammonium ion (NH4) plus. Ammonium is converted to nitrite then to nitrate NO3 deficiency by nitrifying bacteria. Denitrifying bacteria convert the nitrate back into nitrogen gas, which reenters the atmosphere.

In natural ecosystems processes, such as primary production and decomposition, are partial by the available contribute of nitrogen. In other words, nitrogen is often the limiting nutrient, the nutrient that’s in direct supply and thus limits the growth of organisms or population.

We humans may not be capable to fix nitrogen biologically, but we surely do industrially using a chemical method called the Haber Bosch process, in which is reacted with hydrogen at high temperatures. Nearly all of this fixed nitrogen goes to build fertilizers we use on our lawns, gardens, and agricultural fields. Human activity releases nitrogen into the environment by two major means: combustion of fossil fuels and use of nitrogen containing fertilizers in agriculture. Both processes increase levels of nitrogen containing compounds in the atmosphere. Elevated levels of atmospheric nitrogen are connected with harmful effects, like the production of acid rain as nitric acid and contributions to the greenhouse effect as nitrous oxide. When the oxides of nitrogen and the sulfur dioxide combine with clouds, they form dilute sulfuric and nitric acids in that order which results into acid rain. When this rain falls to the ground, it has a to some extent acidic pH and is known as acid rain.

Acid rain in addition has overwhelming effects on buildings made of limestone and can gradually destroy stone statues and carvings. Acid Rain also destroys fabric of the building .

Furthermore, when artificial fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus are used in agriculture, the surplus fertilizer may be washed into lakes, streams, and rivers by outside overflow. A major effect from fertilizer extra is saltwater and freshwater eutrophication. In this process, nutrient runoff causes overgrowth, or a ‘flower,’ of algae or other microorganisms. Lacking the nutrient runoff, they were limited in their growth by accessibility of nitrogen or phosphorus.

Carbon is present in all organic molecules; carbon compounds contain large amounts of energy, which humans use as fuel. Carbon dioxide from the atmosphere dissolves in water, combining with water molecules to form carbonic acid, which then ionizes to carbonate and bicarbonate ions. Human activity can release nitrogen into the environment by the combustion of fossil fuels and by the use of artificial fertilizers in agriculture. Commercially produced ammonia is used to make a wide variety of nitrogen compounds, including fertilizer and explosives

This report shall define carbon dioxide, climate, Anthropocene, and the perils of stability. The report shall also discuss the impacts and importance of carbon dioxide and climate change. Carbon dioxide is defined as colourless, odourless gas manufactured by the process of blazing carbon and organic compounds. It also has a molecule that consists of a carbon atom combined with two oxygen atoms. However, carbon dioxide is known as greenhouse gas in the atmosphere. On the other hand, climate is described as the atmospheric conditions in a certain place over many years. I have chosen this topic because it described the in depth of carbon dioxide and climate change and I enjoyed reading it. I have also chosen Anthropocene and perils of stability as the case study because it explained about how the atmosphere impacts the planet and humans. The use of the figures makes it more understandable because it shows the difference between carbon dioxide, methane, and solar radiation.

Carbon dioxide is known as the largest anthropogenic greenhouse gas on the earth which helps to provide global warming. In addition, there are three capture apparatus which are used to prevent carbon dioxide from the flue gas; they are called oxy-fuel combustion, post-combustion, and pre-combustion (Alivia et al. 2019). Furthermore, post-combustion is popularly known as oxy-fuel and pre-combustion because it can be modified for momentary to medium term without causing any technology dangers. However, according to Luis Morales carbon dioxide may be useful to patients who have acute lung injury, sustain decreasing in pulmonary inflammation, oxidative alveolar impairment, and the host defences and congenital immunity (Luis et al. 2018). Though, alternative research demonstrates that carbon dioxide can cause a harmful effect to the lung, lessening the alveolar wound reparation in lung damage, and plummeting the speed of organic process of alveolar liquid.

Climate change plays a harmful role as it causes a significant hazard to human health. Furthermore, it is advised that having ideas of how climate science can be transformed into public health is an important stage in allowing vagarious alteration and developing pliancy to climate change (Nicola et al. 2018). Moreover, the increase of greenhouse gas intensities due to the result of human pursuit are now devising an influence on climate by rising the atmospheric temperature (Lydia et 2020). In addition, Lydia (2020) suggests that the recent absorption of carbon dioxide freed by the manufacturing movement is known as the biggest issue because it has been occurring for more than one million years. Also, the increase of the ocean hotness is getting warmer and becoming tarter. Climate change is instigating an extreme alteration to plants, ecosystems, humans, wildlife, and marine life. Moreover, seaside zones are known as the earth’s greatest inhabited districts, the increase of warm seas, growing storms and acidulated oceans are compelling Indonesia to move its wealth urban in the littoral areas (Qiang et al. 2019).

The Anthropocene: The Anthropocene is known to be increased by human activities. Human activities such as fossil fuel burning have an impact on all the surroundings, in numerous ways outcompeting innate courses (Paul et 2006). Also, Paul suggests that the production of dangerous substances intensifies that are not created by nature, for example the chlorofluorocarbon blasts which are accountable for the ozone cavity. Moreover, human activities have risen to turn out to be an important environmental influence, for example via the process of exchanging lands, desertification, and fossil fuel feverish. According to Paul (2006), human activities are aligned to appoint the word “Anthropocene” to the present environmental epoch Paul (2006). Furthermore, this area may be described to have begun around two centuries ago, according to James Watt’s intention of the vapour machine in 1784 Paul (2006). Also, Ruddiman (2013) believes that the start of the retro of big scale of human special effects on this earth (Anthropocene) is known to be argued. In addition, the manufacturing opinion grips that the greatest importance of influences have happened meanwhile the timely industrial age (1850), while the initial anthropogenic sight acknowledges a big wallops thousands of existences before (Ruddiman et 2013). On the other hand, the Anthropocene which is presently an unofficial word is being examined as a possible epoch inside the Quaternary era (Williams et al. 2020). Also, it signifies a period when deepened anthropogenic influences have triggered the planet method to deviate from the moderately steady circumstances that described the Holocene Era William (et al. 2020). According to William (et al. 2020), they believe that a Holocene frontier can be finest consigned to concur with a noticeable variation in an extensive arrangement of ecological substitutes for approximately in the mid-20th aera.

Moreover, the canal slit is described to have happened within the Anthropocene, where physical stream is handled, and weather differences gradually co-operate among human action on the planet. Furthermore, reasons of Anthropocene slit compromise those who use the land that distorted the relation of emission to residue weight, inferior baselines, or human actions which then changes fluvial schemes, for instance channelization (Joan et al. 2013). According to David and John (2016), Anthropocene spots the extremity of the Holocene era, which is the period of huge earthly stability. Likewise, human beings have been living in the Holocene aera for the previous 10,000 years. This has been an extremely area of comparative of ecological constancy, where hotness, interference circumstances and biogeochemically sequences have showed fewer slight oscillations (Michael et al. 2014).in addition, this constancy let human beings to grow cultivation and form established societies, concluding in the development of contemporary aeras (Dansgaard et al. 2001).

Human beings are having meaningful results at a worldwide graduation, and the importance of these belongings are adequate to imply we are arriving at a new environmental aera, which is called the Anthropocene. However, lots of human activities have failed in the past due to a difficult mixture of ecological and financial issues. Also, it might be important to develop carbon dioxide and climate change because burning fossil fuel affects the humans, creatures, and the planet. Moreover, climate and carbon dioxide need to develop in the future because the impact of global warming on the planet may be increased due to the continuation of humans’ activities.

Introduction

China has the largest population of any country currently, at a figure of 1.418 billion. As the country with the world’s largest population, China has been the world’s largest emitter of CO2 annually since 2006. Annual CO2 emissions were 10.15 billion tonnes in 2016, with the next largest emitters being the United States and India.

China’s energy consumption in 2016 was 10000 tonnes of standard coal equivalent. 64% of China’s energy consumption was generated using Coal, and even though that percentage of energy has been decreasing since 2011, China’s energy usage has been increasing since 2017, and thus China’s Coal consumption is still steadily increasing. However, even though China is the largest emitter of CO2 in the world, it’s per capita carbon dioxide emissions are still smaller than that of many other large countries like the United States, India, and Russia. Thus, China feels the effect of global warming and its citizens are mostly supportive of implementing policies to mitigate the effects of climate change.

A survey by the China Climate Change Communication program showed that over out of 4025 interviewees, over 79.8% of Chinese citizens felt concerned over climate change, and 94% of interviewees supported the Paris Climate Change agreement. Almost 70% of interviewees also indicated that they were willing to buy environmentally friendly products in order to help prevent climate change. Furthermore, many of these citizens also felt that their actions as individuals were also able to impact climate change, although most still viewed the government as the one most responsible for combating climate change.

The attitude of the Chinese government against Climate Change has also shifted considerably over the years, as it historically believed that climate change should be solved by industrialized and first world countries, but has now started to encourage countries to support the Paris Climate Change agreement, even in the wake of the withdrawal of the United States in 2017.

The purpose of this essay is to analyze the negative effects of pollution on China, as well as to analyze the efforts made by China to combat climate change. This essay will address the research question, being – “To what extent has pollution negatively affected china, and what efforts have been made to combat climate change?”. By examining three factors – Effects of pollution, Carbon Trading, and Renewable Energy, the negative effects of pollution and the efforts made by China will be investigated.

Effects of Pollution

Less than a decade ago, many businesses were still ongoing in many Chinese cities, cities that were engulfed in clouds of pollution. The gray haze could be so dense that buildings and trees would “disappear” in front of people. The Chinese population, of them, had to wear facial masks to avoid directly breathing toxic air. The effects of pollution on the people of China were inevitable. Because of the emissions created from factories, the number of people diagnosed with cancer that plagues the population has increased.

Lung cancer is the most common form of cancer that has affected the population. In 2015, there were more than 4.3 million new cancer cases in the country and more than 2.8 million people died from the disease. According to a report, Cancer statistics in China 2015, published on 25 January 2016 and reported by the American Cancer Society, the largest contributor to avoidable cancer deaths in China is chronic infection, which is estimated to account for 29% of cancer deaths. Chronic infection can be developed from exposure to outdoor air pollution, which pollution in China is considered to be among the worst in the world. Exposure to indoor air pollution through heating and cooking using coal and other biomass fuels, and the contamination of soil and drinking water can also develop chronic infections.

Evidently, the Chinese population is exposed to many environmental carcinogens in the pollution that plagues the air. The source of much of that pollution was easy to narrow down, coal. Since the early 2000s, China’s economy has been growing rapidly, powered largely by coal. The unchecked use of coal on such a huge scale did not take long to generate real problems. In 2005, China surpassed the United States to become the world’s largest CO2 emitter. And in 2008, it was evaluated that 16 of the 20 most polluted cities in the world were in China, as reported by the World Bank.

China also suffers from other effects of global warming such as sea level rise and glacier retreat. The effects of climate change in China will lead to serious setbacks to healthcare and have the potential to cause large financial impacts. China is already experiencing the effects of Climate change, take for example China has been affected by global warming, observing a ground temperature average increase of almost 0.24 degrees per decade, exceeding the average global ground temperature increase rate. Additionally, sea level rise in China has been increasing at a rate of 3.3mm/s per year from 1980 to 2017.

A former Chinese official also said temperatures are increasing four times quicker in the Tibetan Plateau than anywhere else in the globe. The sea-level rise is particularly alarming as China has a big and densely populated coastline, with many major cities such as Shenzhen, Tianjin, and Shanghai near the coast. A Chinese study has shown that an increase in sea level of one meter would inundate 92,000 square kilometers of the shore of China, thus displacing 67 million individuals.

Ecological disasters related to climate change have also increased the occurrence of climate-related disasters such as drought and floods. These disasters can cause great consequences for productivity when they occur, and create serious repercussions for the natural environment and infrastructure. This poses a threat to millions of lives and can lead to poverty. This can also cause issues for the agricultural industry in China, as the negative effects such as higher temperatures and droughts will prevent the steady production of crops. Agricultural instability will be caused, where there will be lower production and lower quality of crops. Reduced outputs of important crops like wheat, rice, and corn can occur, causing drastic effects on the country’s food source. This can prove destructive as an agriculture industry of a country as big as China would affect the population negatively.

Apart from this, other categories of environmental problems in China are water problems, soil problems, habitat destruction, biodiversity loss, and mega projects. China has been noted for the frequency, number, extent, and damage of its natural disasters, where some natural disasters in China are closely related to human environmental impacts, especially dust storms, landslides, droughts, and floods. Natural disasters caused by the human environment can also be destructive to the population, causing millions of deaths and dislocations of the population.

Carbon Trading

Water vapor and smoke rise from a steel plant in northeastern China. The country’s new carbon-trading scheme will cover about 1,700 coal- and natural gas-based power-generating companies in its first phase. Photo: Bloomberg

Carbon emissions trading is a form of emissions trading that specifically targets carbon dioxide (calculated in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent or tCO2e) and it currently constitutes the bulk of emissions trading. This form of permit trading is a common method countries utilize in order to meet their obligations specified by the Kyoto Protocol; namely the reduction of carbon emissions in an attempt to reduce future climate change.

Under Carbon trading, a country or a polluter having more emissions of carbon is able to purchase the right to emit more and the country or entity having fewer emissions sells the right to emit carbon to other countries or entities. The countries or polluting entities emitting more carbon thereby satisfy their carbon emission requirements, and the trading market results in the most cost-effective carbon reduction methods being exploited first. For any given expenditure on carbon reduction, the market mechanism will result in the greatest reduction.

The Chinese national carbon trading scheme is a cap and trade system for carbon dioxide emissions that is set to be implemented by the end of 2017. This emission trading scheme (ETS) creates a carbon market where emitters can buy and sell emission credits. From this scheme, China can limit emissions, but allow economic freedom for emitters to reduce emissions or purchase emission allowances from other emitters. China is currently the largest emitter of greenhouse gases and many major Chinese cities have severe air pollution. With this plan, China will soon be the largest market in carbon trading. The scheme will limit emissions from six of China’s top carbon dioxide emitting industries, including coal-fired power plants, reducing air pollution that could harm the population or influence climate change.

China was able to gain experience in drafting and implementing an ETS plan from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), where China was part of the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). From this experience with carbon markets and lengthy discussions with the next largest carbon market, the European Union (EU), as well as analysis of small-scale pilot markets in major Chinese cities and provinces, China’s national ETS will be the largest of its kind and will help China achieve its Intended Nationally Determined Contribution (INDC) from the Paris Agreement in 2016.

As a result, with the carbon emissions trading scheme, China will be able to reduce the emissions produced from carbon dioxide emitting industries. This would help China combat climate change, reducing the impact of air pollution from carbon dioxide emissions, which can be harmful to the country as mentioned in Effects of Pollution.

Renewable Energy

Electricity is essential to the running of any modern civilization, and China is no exception. Most of China’s energy is produced using Coal, with nearly 77% or 907 GW of energy generated using coal, and this means that China contributed nearly 28.8% or 10.4 billion tons of CO2 emissions to the world.

No matter how advanced the technologies used to create “green” infrastructure and machinery like electric vehicles or electrolysis are, the carbon emissions saved by using these kinds of technology will be “wasted” if fossil fuels like coal are still used to generate energy. Thus, the Chinese Government has tried to invest in renewable sources of energy like hydropower, which is currently China’s second-largest source of energy after coal. Hydropower in China had a capacity of over 319 GW in 2015 and was able to generate over 1,126 TWh of energy. This represented an increase of over 147 GW from just 6 years ago in 2009. This shows that Hydropower is clearly on an upward trend in China. However, it isn’t just hydropower that has been on an upwards trend.

As of 2017, energy generated by renewable energy is nearly 35% and is only set to increase as time goes on. Other types of renewable energy are also gaining popularity in China, with China being the largest producer of photovoltaic power, with 43 GW of total installed capacity. It is also cheaper for China to use renewable energies, as it has become the largest world’s largest manufacturer of Photovoltaics in 2015. However, renewable energies like hydropower also pose significant disadvantages to the conventional use of fossil fuels to generate energy, for example, the long transmission lines required to transmit energy from places where it is generated to the population centers of China result in large losses. Furthermore, Hydropower in China has also resulted in the need to flood large areas of farmland and natural habitats, displacing millions of people and wreaking havoc on the environment, for example in the building of the Three Gorges Dam, where construction of dam caused a drop in forested area around the dam from 20% to less than 10%.

Using other forms of renewable energy like solar power also causes problems as the manufacturing of solar panels creates poisonous by-products which Chinese companies often do not dispose of properly, leading to toxic waste often entering the environment. Thus, even though China has tried to combat Climate Change by using renewable energy, it has to ensure that it does so without severely impacting the environment and in a cost-effective manner, or else using renewable energies will ironically create more pollution and lead to more climate change.

Conclusion

In conclusion, China has long been affected by various forms of Climate Change, which has not only affected the environment but also the people of China. This is due in part to the pollution caused by the rapid industrialization of China in the 20th and 21st Centuries, which have led to extremely primitive and toxic forms of energy like coal being used in order to bring down costs and enable the Chinese economy to easily scale to meet demand. However, this overreliance on harmful sources of energy like fossil fuels has resulted in China being plagued by various environmental issues like bad air quality, polluted water sources, and many others. This has resulted in many health issues for Chinese citizens and has also led to ecological disasters like floods and droughts, as well as more noticeable effects like rapid sea level rise.

In 2006, China even became the largest emitter of CO2 in the world, which means that it is basically the largest contributor to climate change. In Order to combat this, the Chinese government has taken measures like switching to renewable energy and implementing Carbon Taxes to try to reduce pollution and carbon emissions in order to combat Climate Change, a far cry from its stance just 6 years ago when Chinese officials were rejecting the idea of taking the lead on Climate Change. Thus, even though China is still a large contributor to Climate Change and pollution, it is taking steps in the right direction to reduce emissions and pollution and should be able to become a much “greener” and environmentally friendly country if it continues on the right path.

Today it is argued whether global warming is the cause of human activities and this has been proven without doubts, scientist all over the world are confirmed that human beings, although insignificant on this mighty planet are causing global warming. Humans are living on this planet as if they have another one to go to, once it is destroyed or drained of its resources.

Almost every one agree that global warming is happening. Burning of fossil fuels are emitting lot of CO2 at extremely dangerous rate. Storms, hurricanes and tornado are a byproduct of global warming. Slow hurricanes are again a phenomenon to be afraid of. We all know that warm air rises and chances of storm grows intensely. Moreover, warm air retains moisture which in turn mean more rain. when storms are slower, it is expected that they will get more time to leash destruction.

Scientists have issued a warning that if our Earth arms mare that 1.5o, ecosystem will collapse. Sea level is rising at alarming rate putting countries like Miami, Bangladesh, Vietnam and Venice in great danger. Total collapse of ecosystem is also expected in the next decade. It I expected that 60% of coral reefs will be in threat by 2030. Warm oceans can cause coral to expel the algae present in its tissues and the result will be coral bleaching. These changes will be irreversible and eventually lead to upset of marine life and threaten human livelihood.

Not long ago we observed Cape Town approaching day zero and climate change was to be blamed. Water supplies ran low and this suggested that if global warming continues, such unusual phenomena will be common occurrence. It is widely believed that Cape Town would become the first city to ran out of water and rest will closely follow.

Scientists believe that climate change has a hand in natural disaster. Global warming caused the unusual dry spell which resulted in drought.

Global warming caused the highest tide in Venice in 50 years. Whether patterns have been changing and these exceptional rise in water level can be directly attributed to global warming.

The solution to all these problem is a green and clean earth, free of toxic emission where things are recycled.

It’s not that the world is sleeping through this era of global warming. Under Paris climate agreement (an agreement within the UN convention on climate change regarding greenhouse gas emission), goal is to keep the global temperature in check by limiting the CO2 level and thus reduce the risk of global warming. Which mechanism is applied and what targets are set, but sad to say, what is done is contrary to this agreement. In 2017 president Donald Trump withdrew from this agreement, as they do not afford to decrease their carbon markets. The major industrialized nation has not cut down CO2 emission and consequent have no met targets.

We don’t need to go very far in the past to search for the evidence of global warming. In fact, right now a bush fire is raging in Australia which has already burned two million hectares of land on the continent. Bush fires are common occurrence in Australia but according to scientists this year, these fires started before the usual time and its intensity is fueled by global warming. The droughts experienced by Eastern Australia has left its tinder dry and more prone to bush fires.

Desperate measures are required to deal with desperate situations. We can’t feel safe from threat of global warming unless all work together to tackle this problem. Countries must sit together and try to bring about positive change or a day might come that our planet’s face will change for worse. The example I have quoted above provides us substantial evidence that transformation toward destruction has begun.

Now we come to other side of the coin. There are people who dare to deny these crystal clear evidence of global warming. They disregard the fact that our coming generations will be living on an Earth quite different from today or that they will be having heat related illness. They think that global warming is a myth, these are people who want to protect their interests which are in danger, if steps are taken against the use of products that are contributing to global warming. These people refer to quote of Neil Bohr that man has nothing to do with the end of ice age. One should not believe that nature will just remain at rest if we let it be. They speculate, and not without reason that our planet earth is new to us but we, the humans are not new to it. It has seen many of us come and go. Earth has seen 4.5 billion years of its origin and it has seen a lot of climatic changes taking place. These people present the other side of the picture, which is very interesting.

According to the non-believers of global warming, cyclic changes on this Earth have been taking place since time unknown. Climate have changed before but humans not only adapted themselves and survived, rather they flourished, so the idea of global warming is not as threatening as portrayed by the environmentalists. Some of them goes to the extent of saying that the idea of global warming is baseless. And the world is heading toward ice ages. To support this Idea, they present this theory’ What goes up must come down’. A time will come when this warming trend will decline with the exhaustion of fossil fuels and people will switch to alternate resources. The concentration of CO2 will go down. Earth will start to recover and will finally be cold enough to support Antarctica and arctic.

These people argue that as compared to today’s era; earth’s volcanoes were more active during and before Jurassic. The Jurassic atmosphere contained several times more CO2 than it has now. Theory of continental drift is also relatable to the high atmospheric temperature which raised the sea level and divided the land masses. Global temperature at that time was 8o-10o warmer than today and since then, history of earth shows a sustained cooling trend. This modern climate change is a brief respite from an otherwise cold cycle in the life of earth.

It is argued that 1940’s was a warmer era even though CO2 was low. They even go to length of saying that CO2 is not even a pollutant rather its decrease will result in deforestation.

They challenge the environmentalists that today when weather predictions are proving wrong on every day basis, how can we predict the climate that is spanned over hundreds of years.

No matter how convincing these arguments may sound, we can’t close our eyes to what’s happening around us. Arctic ocean is warming faster than anywhere else on Earth. By 2040, the region may have its first ice free summer. Glaciers national park at Montana has only 27 glaciers left out of 150. 25% of Australian crop production in 2007 lost due to desertification. Acidity of surface ocean water has increased by 30% as more CO2 is absorbed. Biodiversity is under threat, from penguins in Antarctica to butterflies in Spain to coral in the Great Barrier reef, species are disappearing. Humans are emitting 100 times more CO2 than volcanoes.

Whether a myth or reality. Whether a conspiracy or truth, we must stop and think before damage is done. The dame of 1000 years will take even longer to become undone, what if it is too late. Even if it is not happening like it is said, should we stop caring. Insurance is good even if likelihood of accident is low.

We learned from elementary school that pollution is damaging the natural environment and putting it in danger, and we have seen its representation in various forms: soil pollution, water pollution, and air pollution …, in the latest years, another type of pollution appeared: the digital pollution and it cannot be underestimated. Digital pollution is linked to any negative digital impact on nature, from the manufacturing of all that is digital, passing through the using stages until its end of life.

The first cause or the first phase is the manufacturing of electronic devices (smartphones, computers, connected objects, chips), which includes the extraction of raw materials, the production of electronic components and the assembly of equipment. The second cause of digital pollution stems from the phase of use or consumption where actions like watching a movie, internet surfing, sending an e-mail and, chatting on social media, using a connected object…, require a digital activity that needs a lot of energy and emits greenhouse gases the first responsible for climate change: for example, according to ADEME ‘each French employee receives an average of 58 professional emails per day and sends 33. Sending 33 daily emails with 1 MB attachments to two recipients, according to the agency, it generates annual emissions equivalent to 180 kg of CO2, or as much as 1,000 km traveled by car’, and according to Dr. Rado Danilak ‘U.S. data centers use more than 90 billion kilowatt-hours of electricity a year, requiring roughly 34 giant (500-megawatt) coal-powered plants. Global data centers used roughly 416 terawatts (4.16 x 10 watts) (or about 3% of the total electricity) last year, nearly 40% more than the entire United Kingdom. And this consumption will double every four years’, December 2017.

The last cause is the recycling of electronic equipment, it’s the management of devices at the end of their life cycle it could reduce the exploitation and production of rare metals, and could also be one of the solutions for the optimization and security of supplies, on the other hand, there is Digital waste (55 million tones of “e-waste” was produced in 2018, the vast majority not recycled and sent to landfills to be incinerated or buried).

Digital pollution is an invisible pollution that grows very quickly, we must realize that and well assess the situation to avoid the possible risks that could happen, in 2019, there were 34 billion digital devices in the world. And 4.1 billion people to share them, so an individual has an average of 8 digital devices, that caused real dangerous problems as the stats say 10% The share of electricity consumed by data centers in France, 2020 is the first year when digital pollution will pollute more than civil aviation, 4% of global CO2 emissions are from digital pollution and in five years, it will be 6%, for one email sends with a 1-megabyte attachment we have 19g CO2 emission and 60% of these emails never opened, we are at the beginning of the digital pollution phenomenon, and it is more complicated and harmful compared with the other pollutions, it will grow exponentially in the next few years.

As users of digital devices, there are simple good practices we can to minimize CO2 emissions. In the first place we try to buy with more responsibly and try to choose the digital equipment that has the longest lifetime. To manufacture a Smartphone we need about 60 different metals, but only around 20 of these metals are recyclable, So it is better to choose products that have environmental stickers like (European eco-label, EPEAT, Nordic eco-label, Blue Angel, TCO) there are more economical devices. Limit the energy consumption of our devices by turning off mobile data, Wi-Fi, GPS, Bluetooth when they are not useful and as possible as we can. When connecting to the internet with a computer, it is better to use an Ethernet cable instead of a WIFI. Even the internet browsers there are ones with less energy-consuming such Ecosia and Brave. Tapping the website address we want to visit instead of going through the search engine at least for those sites we regularly visit is more economical, or creating a bookmarks toolbar on your browser. Limiting the number of tabs and windows unused opened, which consume resources and energy continuously. Regarding the use of e-mail, with easy gestures for everyone we can reduce their impact, for example: optimize the size of email attachments or replace it by links (example instead of using an Excel file use a link to Google sheets) and remove the images in the signature. Limit the number of recipients and clean up the mailing list and avoid ‘reply for all’ functionality. Unsubscribe from unsolicited newsletters and delete emails regularly. We must know that these simple acts can reduce greenhouse gas emission. However, these good acts or practices are only a solution for the short-term, because user demands for digital products or services are always increasing to make their life easier and simpler.

Digital devices and services are very important in our lives, and we can use it to respond to various environmental challenges, especially in terms of the energy transition, but it still a factor in the increase in greenhouse gas emissions. Through the energy consumption in the digital sector and greenhouse gas emissions, and it will increase very rapidly in the next few years. Despite recent efforts to raise awareness of digital pollution and the appearance of GreenTech, EnviroTech or CleanTech solutions. So, this requires from all concerned companies, universities, specialized associations, engineers… must cooperate to make real and tangible progress and save the digital industry from harming our natural environment. And as users we cannot completely stop using digital services and devices, but we can find and apply good practices to limit the impact of our digital footprint on the planet.

ABSTRACT

The problem that was researched and studied, was how to increase the rate of photosynthesis. This topic is important because photosynthesis is one of the most important processes regarding all life on Earth. By increasing the rate of photosynthesis, the process will be able to generate more energy at a faster pace. The procedure used to study this conflict was placing the same plant (Elodea) into different types of carbonated liquids, to test whether or not increasing the concentration of carbon dioxide would increase the rate of photosynthesis. The key findings of the experiment was that Sprite Zero demonstrated the highest release of gas bubbles from inside the plant. The water mixed with baking soda represented the least amount of gas bubbles released from the Elodea plant sample. Based on the findings one can conclude that carbonated diet soda will increase the rate of photosynthesis when compared to water and tonic water. This can be applied when gardening. For example, instead of just using H2O when watering plants, one can use Sprite Zero to water their plants, every once in a while. This would speed up the plant’s rate of photosynthesis.

INTRODUCTION

Photosynthesis is the process in which plants use light to synthesize energy from water and carbon dioxide. According to Britannica, “the rate of [photosynthesis] can be increased somewhat by increasing the carbon dioxide concentration”. The experiment is designed to test whether or not, increasing the carbon dioxide concentration will truly speed up the reaction, and if so, by how much. Although “the increase in carbon dioxide directly increases plant photosynthesis, the size of the increase depends on the species and physiological condition of the plant” (Britannica). The type of plant being used in the experiment must remain the same throughout each trial to ensure accurate results when comparing the release of oxygen. The objective is to place the Elodea plant into water mixed with baking soda, tonic water, and Sprite Zero to test the release of oxygen. If the Elodea plant is placed in the three different liquid bases, which of the test tubes will release the most oxygen bubbles? If the plants are placed in carbonated liquid such as tonic water or Sprite Zero, then the release of oxygen will increase in the plants when compared to water. The plant inside of the Sprite Zero will photosynthesize the most because the liquid contains the highest carbon concentration when compared to water and tonic water.

HYPOTHESIS

If the plants are placed in carbonated liquid such as tonic water or sprite zero, then the release of oxygen will increase in the plants when compared to water. The plant with sprite zero will photosynthesize the most because the liquid is already carbonated in comparison to water and the tonic water.

METHODS

First, three pieces of the Elodea sp. plant, measured at around two inches, were gathered. The stems of the plants were then lightly pressed with the edge of the ruler. The tweezers were then used to remove some of the plant’s leaves near the stem. In tube A, the Elodea plant was placed into 15 mL of H2O mixed with a pinch of baking soda. In tube B, the Elodea plant was placed into 15 mL of Tonic water. In tube C, the Elodea plant was placed in 15 mL of Sprite Zero. The three tubes were then placed 10 centimeters away from the light source. The timer was used to time the three-minute trials which were repeated a total of three times. Before repeating the trial, the liquids in each tube were replaced with fresh samples. During each trial, the number of oxygen released per tube, per trial was recorded into a data table. The data table was used to create a line graph that compares the number of oxygen bubbles released per tube, over the three tables. The H2O serves as the control group. The constants are the amount of liquid, the distance from the light source, the type of light and the test tubes that were equal in size. The independent variables are the different liquids (Sprite Zero, Tonic water & H2O) since that is what is being altered in the experiment. It also caused a change in the dependent variable, which is the rate of photosynthesis, for the carbonation of a liquid directly affects the rate of photosynthesis.

Discussion

The result of the experiment concluded that the overall hypothesis was correct. The hypothesis stated that the plant placed inside the tube filled with Sprite Zero would photosynthesis the most, for the liquid was already the most carbonated in comparison to water and the tonic water. The Sprite Zero test tube produced the most oxygen bubbles amongst the three. This was the result of an increase in the rate at which carbon is used in the light-independent reaction. Therefore, the rate of photosynthesis would gradually increase until limited by another factor. Since Sprite Zero produced the fastest rate of photosynthesis, it can be concluded that Elodea Sp. photosynthesizes the quickest while under high carbonation concentration. It was evident that altering the amount of carbonation did in fact increase the rate of photosynthesis. Amongst the limitations of the experiment were that there was no control group. The tap water used in the experiment included a pinch of baking soda. If the tap water was a constant without the addition of baking soda, the amount of oxygen bubbles would have been significantly lower, compared to the water with the baking soda. It was expected that the number of bubbles produced for the Sprite Zero would have the highest number of gas bubbles released, and continue an upward trend. Although it did have the highest production of gas bubbles, fewer bubbles were produced in the second and third trial, yet it still remained more than the amount for tap water and tonic. According to a journal article, when regulating the openness of stomata, pores through which plants exchange gasses, with the external environment, the experiment is considered to be very significant (NCBI).

Three trials were conducted to guarantee the accuracy of the experiment. Each trial was used to provide a precise representation of data. If one set of results would have come out odd or unusual, there were two other trials to rely on. During trial 3, the test tubes were left in front of the light source longer without counting the gas bubbles which might have impacted the results in that specific trial. Over the three trials, H2O with a pinch of baking soda and Sprite Zero decreased, while the tonic water decreased in trial 2, then increased in trial 3. This could have been the products of the errors found in the experiment. What could have prevented this from occurring, was if all three test tubes had been placed in front of the light source right at the start of the 3- minute timer. This is because no gas bubbles would have escaped without being accounted for. Another error could have taken place when counting the number of bubbles, especially since many were released together at a fast and rapid pace. To adjust the experiment, one could utilize oxygen sensors that would help measure the concentration of oxygen, instead of physically counting it through the beaker. One of the limitations of the lab was regarding time, so the trials could not be of longer intervals.

To help further research the idea that testing the impacts of different carbonated drinks have on photosynthesis, this experiment could have been tested under no light source to see if the number of oxygen bubbles would be different. An experiment of this sort would solve the question “What is the ideal oxygen level range of carbonated liquids for photosynthesis in light and dark reactions? ” The hypothesis for this kind of experiment would be that conducting photosynthesis in the dark or light is not dependent on the effect of different CO2 liquids, for CO2 liquids only affects the rate of photosynthesis. This concept could be tested if all 3 trials were to be conducted under a light, and again under no light.. This way, it would be easy to see if the reaction happening in the light or dark had an effect on the different carbonated liquids.

REFERENCES

1. “Chemistry for Biologists.” RSB, www.rsc.org/Education/Teachers/Resources/cfb/Photosynthesis.htm#10.
2. “Factors Affecting Photosynthesis – What Happens during Photosynthesis? – OCR 21C – GCSE Combined Science Revision – OCR 21st Century – BBC Bitesize.” BBC News, BBC, www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/guides/z9pjrwx/revision/5.
3. “Figure 2f from: Irimia R, Gottschling M (2016) Taxonomic Revision of Rochefortia Sw. (Ehretiaceae, Boraginales). Biodiversity Data Journal 4: e7720. Https://Doi.org/10.3897/BDJ.4.e7720.” doi:10.3897/bdj.4.e7720.figure2f.
4. Lambers, Hans, and James Alan Bassham. “Carbon Dioxide.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 3 Feb. 2020, www.britannica.com/science/photosynthesis/Carbon-dioxide.
5. Walker, Berkley J, et al. “Uncertainty in Measurements of the Photorespiratory CO2 Compensation Point and Its Impact on Models of Leaf Photosynthesis.” Photosynthesis Research, Springer Netherlands, June 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5443873/.
6. Walker, Berkley J, et al. “Uncertainty in Measurements of the Photorespiratory CO2 Compensation Point and Its Impact on Models of Leaf Photosynthesis.” Photosynthesis Research, Springer Netherlands, June 2017, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5443873/.

INTRODUCTION

The light from the Sun and the presence of carbon dioxide is crucial in propelling the process of photosynthesis. It is these main factors that plants can grow and expand. However, the threat of climate change will dramatically alter the conditions in which flora can thrive in. Hence forth this experiment is to model and investigate the impacts of climate change on plants via a combination of light intensity and carbon dioxide presence.

Climate change is heavily linked to an increase of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Trend in atmospheric CO2 concentration has been on the rise and it is concluded that their elevated presence has led to faster photosynthetic rate and plant growth (Kaiser et al., 2014). Despite that, both C4 and C3 plants have a saturation point where CO2 can no longer contribute to their development (Ghannoum et al., 2000).

However, as CO2 rises, so does temperature. Plants can function at a high temperature but only to a certain extent. As it is projected that in 30-50 years, the average temperature will rise within a range of 2-3 °C (Intergovernmental Panel Climate Change (IPCC) (2007)), many plant species will begin to experience extreme dryness, thus overall decreasing the efficiency of photosynthesis.

One example was shown in maize growth, where its reproductive stage of development was exposed to a much higher temperature than its normal regime. The grain yield was largely reduced by around 80-90% (Jerry et al., 2015). Therefore, with heat waves or extreme temperature are predicted to become more intense, there will be a few days with temperature increases of over 5 °C above the expected temperatures. One of the possible effects of excessive heat has been studied to show a reduction in grain numbers in wheat (Triticum aestivum) and decreased duration of the grain-filling period (Barlow et al., 2015). Whereas during frost, it modified the form grains to cause sterility and consequently, damaging the plant itself.

Furthermore, light is a source of energy for photosynthesis; however, it can also become a stress factor for the plants. Under extreme light, it can suppress photosynthesis, known as photoinhibition. When plants are stressed, that is under intense light, the energy supply (ATP) and NADPH exceeds the demand for the metabolic processes (Miyake et al. 2009). In those conditions, the plants have their own mechanisms of mitigating the damage. One the methods is the dissipation of the excess energy in the form of heat to reduce the damage.

To further the understanding of the impacts of climate change on plants, this experiment stimulates rocket, Eruca sativa, under low/high light and ambient/elevated CO2 conditions. Its leaf area was then used to measure the growth and the rate of photosynthesis, to see how flora would react in a modelled setting. If the concentration of CO2 were elevated along with the amount of light, the photosynthesis rate and plant growth of E. sativa will increase.

DISCUSSION

The experiment supported the hypothesis provided. It showed that having access to more light and CO2 does greatly influence a plant’s growth, as indicated by the leaf area average. The two figures had a huge gap in terms of their p value. Therefore, there is a statistically significant difference, indicating that the difference occurred is not due to chance, but rather due to the access of light and carbon dioxide for the plants.

These results were as expected, where having readily access to resources allowed further growth. This is also supported in an experiment that assessed the growth responses of C4 and C3 plants, against elevated CO¬2 levels (Ghannoum et al., 2000). The paper aims to explore the mechanics of how C4 plants accumulate great biomass at higher CO2 atmospheric levels. Majority of plants are categorised as C3, all having a feature of non-compatibility under warmer temperatures as compared to C4 plants. Indicating that their photosynthesis process is dependent on the carbon dioxide that is available as opposed to C4 plants (Uprety, Sen and Dwivedi, 2010), where they focused on the grain quality of crops in changing CO2 conditions. It showed that C4 plants under elevated carbon dioxide conditions, did not have much of a difference in growth and yield.

At elevated CO2 conditions of around 475-600ppm, the average leaf photosynthetic rate increased by 40% (Uprety, Sen and Dwivedi, 2010). With constant exposure to CO2, plants had low stomatal conductance, decreasing the plant’s overall water usage, estimated to be 5-20%. Despite the less need of water, this showed that climate change had a profound effect in increasing both the soil moisture and runoff. Elevated CO2 also lead to the carbohydrates per leaf area to increase by an average of 30-40% (Ainsworth and Long, 2004). The studies all supported the results that higher CO2 concentrations allowed for faster plant growth, but they all presented that is not the only factor in plant development and will become a saturation point when it is too high. A limitless supply of carbon dioxide does not equate to the high presence of other resources that is needed, like minerals and nitrogen. Therefore, as plants respond with increased photosynthetic rate in elevated CO2 conditions, they are still limited by the nutrients available in the soil.

Another factor that this experiment concentrated on was how light played a role in plant growth. The many characteristics in light such as intensity, duration and direction can influence the plant’s development. This experiment only used intensity as a measure, but light spectra also plays a large role (Bayat et al., 2018). Plants under excess light will choose to decrease the amount that it needs to absorb for photosynthesis, therefore indicating that there is a saturation point. Another method of mitigation under high light intensity is that the plants will release the excess energy in the form of heat (Miyake et al. 2009). Therefore, high light helps plant growth only up to a certain point, under lighting of 250 μmol m−2 s−1, carbohydrate production decreased and there was a build of H2O2, which stalled the photosynthetic process (Bayat et al., 2018).

This experiment performed can be further improved by adding a control. This would assist in whether the experiment performed is valid, that the changes are in plant growth did occur. A control group enables each variable to be studied one at a time, to confirm if the supposed variable truly affects the subject. It is also to avoid bias from the researchers themselves and previously held beliefs (Pithon, 2013).

Also plant growth is affected by other factors like temperature and soil type, but since these factors were not the focus of this experiment, it is not conclusive whether they played an important role. As nitrogen is a major component of chlorophyll and amino acids, it is essential that plants require 3-4% in their soil (Gojon, 2017). Without it, plants wither and die as proteins act as the building blocks in their cells. It is known that plant size will increase with higher CO2 concentrations, therefore, the demand for nitrogen rises as well.

Furthermore, the study should be replicated with different types of plants, to see if the result obtained here are consistent across different species. C4 and C¬3 plants all react differently to the changing environmental conditions. Light intensity affects both types equally, but C3 plants benefits more from higher CO2 levels (Uprety, Sen and Dwivedi, 2010).

As a result, this research has further supported the understanding in maximising plant growth as the Earth undergoes a drastic change. The Earth is now experiencing an increase in carbon dioxide and this experiment will help explain how it will affect plant growth worldwide.

It is predicted that the severity of climate change will only aggravate further in the coming years. Plants are more sensitive to biological damage than any other organisms. Hence the main goal is to effectively reduce the greenhouse gases, specifically carbon dioxide. As a result, the process of photosynthesis in plants is paramount in curbing the presence of carbon dioxide.

Overall, the aim of this experiment was to investigate the effects of climate change on plants. This was achieved by using Eruca sativa, and it was subjected to a combination of elevated/ambient CO2 along with high/low light. Although this study needs to be further replicated and requires improvements, it has achieved its aim in modelling how the plants responded to climate change-like conditions. Despite that, this topic requires more in-depth research as factors like nitrogen and soil type has not been the focused on.

REFERENCE

1. Kaiser, E., Morales, A., Harbinson, J., Kromdijk, J., Heuvelink, E. and Marcelis, L. (2014). Dynamic photosynthesis in different environmental conditions. Journal of Experimental Botany, 66(9), pp.2415-2426.
2. Ghannoum, O., Caemmerer, S., Ziska, L. and Conroy, J. (2000). The growth response of C 4 plants to rising atmospheric CO 2 partial pressure: a reassessment. Plant, Cell & Environment, 23(9), pp.931-942.
3. Hatfield, J. and Prueger, J. (2015). Temperature extremes: Effect on plant growth and development. Weather and Climate Extremes, 10, pp.4-10.
4. Tkemaladze, G. and Makhashvili, K. (2016). Climate changes and photosynthesis. Annals of Agrarian Science, 14(2), pp.119-126.
5. Barlow, K., Christy, B., O’Leary, G., Riffkin, P. and Nuttall, J. (2015). Simulating the impact of extreme heat and frost events on wheat crop production: A review. Field Crops Research, 171, pp.109-119.
6. Miyake, C., Amako, K., Shiraishi, N. and Sugimoto, T. (2009). Acclimation of Tobacco Leaves to High Light Intensity Drives the Plastoquinone Oxidation System—Relationship Among the Fraction of Open PSII Centers, Non-Photochemical Quenching of Chl Fluorescence and the Maximum Quantum Yield of PSII in the Dark. Plant and Cell Physiology, 50(4), pp.730-743.
7. Uprety, D., Sen, S. and Dwivedi, N. (2010). Rising atmospheric carbon dioxide on grain quality in crop plants. Physiology and Molecular Biology of Plants, 16(3), pp.215-227.
8. Ainsworth, E. and Long, S. (2004). What have we learned from 15 years of free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE)? A meta-analytic review of the responses of photosynthesis, canopy properties and plant production to rising CO2. New Phytologist, 165(2), pp.351-372.
9. Pithon, M. (2013). Importance of the control group in scientific research. Dental Press Journal of Orthodontics, 18(6), pp.13-14.
10. Gojon, A. (2017). Nitrogen nutrition in plants: rapid progress and new challenges. Journal of Experimental Botany, 68(10), pp.2457-2462.

Introduction:

The entire world is facing an enormous problem that is Global Warming. Global warming evolves into issues of politics, economics, society, technology, environment, and ecology on a global scale. It becomes one of the major challenges for a human being. On a global level, countries are trying to reduce emissions and made an action plan. The innovative concept of the low carbon economy, low carbon city, low carbon life, carbon trade, and carbon tax, means to reduce carbon emissions has become an important goal of the whole world.

Concept of carbon Footprints:

In the present time, carbon footprint does not have a generally acceptable academic definition. The carbon footprints term originates from the concept of ecological footprints, which is a measure of human demand on earth’s ecosystem. It is a standardized measure of demand for natural capital that may be contrasted with the planet’s ecological capability of regenerating.

However, one of the most accepted concepts of carbon footprint proposed by Wiedmann stated that carbon footprint is a measure of the total amount of carbon dioxide emissions directly and indirectly caused by an activity or accumulated over the life stages of any product.so basically carbon footprint is a measure of carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions. due to daily human activities. Such activities range from driving vehicles to using heavy construction machinery, from doing basic work like laundry with a washing machine to cooking food in the microwave, and many more.

The generally accepted view is that carbon footprint represents the specific quantity of gaseous emissions that have been considered significant to climate change, it is also associated with the everyday production as well as consumption activities of a human being. But the whole CO2 can be substantially measured in mass units. based on this, there is no conversion available to an area unit (m2, km2, etc).

Classifications of carbon footprints:

The carbon footprints majorly apply to personnel, product, organizations, villages, cities, countries, etc. A personal carbon footprint can be defined as carbon dioxide caused by each person’s daily activities i.e., clothing, food consumption, housing, and uses of vehicles in daily life. Unless a person lives in a cave, he is responsible for carbon emissions. A product’s carbon footprint means the greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions over the entire life of the product (goods or service), from the extraction of product raw materials to the manufacturing process of the product to its use and the final reuse, recycling, or disposal. An organizational carbon footprint measures the emissions of Green House Gas from all the activities, across the organization, including the energy sued in buildings, industrial processes, a company transport vehicle for mobilization, generation of waste from the organization, and all other activities which are source of carbon emission other greenhouse gases. A village’s carbon footprint measures the emission from all daily activities like wood (cow dung) burning for

Overview of GHG Protocol scopes and emissions

Source: World Resources Institute (WRI)

cooking of food, farm waste burning, and other activities. A county’s carbon footprint mainly focuses on carbon dioxide emission in the entire country generated by overall consumption of materials and energy use, vegetation, and other carbon sequestrations, as well as the direct and indirect emissions caused by transport systems, export and import activities analyze the overall carbon dioxide emission of the whole country.

Methods of carbon footprints:

carbon footprint can be analyzed for a different functional unit at different types of scales and various methods. There are three most important methods to calculate carbon emission: input-output analysis, life cycle assessment, and IO -LCA.

The above methods depend on a functional unit by scale in practice. Consumer products mostly prefer bottom-up LCA, in the case of national-level analysis top-down IO method, nowadays hybrid methods which combine the strength of both LCA and IOA are being increasingly used in practice.

Assessment standards for carbon footprints:

For accounting carbon emission comparison, governments and many international organizations such as The World Resource Institute (WRI), the International organization for Standardization (ISO), the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and the British Standard Institute (BSI), have introduced many different kinds of carbon footprints assessment standards mainly for organization and products through many research studies. there are ISO14064, GHG Protocol, PAS2050 has been created after long awareness.

But still, there are many problems with the application of standard methods, such as the carbon emission method being uniform in nature, the carbon emission factors are not certain and the boundary definition is not scientific. like produced elsewhere are transported and consumed elsewhere.

Carbon footprint reduction and mitigation:

Organizations and individuals can take many steps to reduce their carbon footprints and thus contribute to global climate mitigation. They can purchase carbon oof-set (a major investment step in a carbon-reducing activity or technology) to recompense for part or all of their carbon footprint. If they purchase enough to counterbalance their carbon footprint, they become effectively carbon neutral.

Carbon footprints can be reduced by improving energy effectiveness and changing lifestyles and buying habits in day-to-day activities. Switching one’s energy use and transportation use can have a major impact on primary carbon footprints. For example, using public transportation, such as buses and railways, cycles reduce an individual’s carbon footprint when compared with private individual driving.

Individuals and corporations can reduce their particular carbon footprints by connecting energy-efficient lighting, adding insulation in buildings, or using renewable energy sources to generate the electricity they require, for example, electricity generation from wind power would not produces direct carbon emissions. Additional lifestyle choices that can lower an individual’s secondary carbon footprint contain reducing one’s consumption of animal meat and switching one’s purchasing habits to products that require lower carbon emissions to produce and transport.

Conclusion:

So, it is clear that the carbon footprint analyses the emission of GHG over the life cycle stages of any product or activity. The carbon footprint utilized by the organization to cut down their emission and product carbon to meet green consumer expectations. it encourages enterprises to improve the efficiency of production and reduce waste, and resource consumption, and promote business opportunities and social responsibility to achieve sustainable development.

Strong measures and methods for the global problem of climate, research on carbon footprints, and assessment standards should be carried out within the global scope.

Introduction

Photosynthesis is very complex process, if analyzed in complete detail. It involves the converting light energy to chemical energy that is used by plants. One of the main aspects of photosynthesis is the flow of electrons. In the process, there is reduction of CO₂, known as carbon dioxide, and the oxidation of H₂0, known as water. This is known as an oxidation-reduction process (Younglove, “Biological Oxidation”). Oxidation is a loss of electrons whereas reduction is a gain in electrons.

In this process there are many factors to take into consideration when determining its rate of function. For example, temperature, light intensity, and carbon dioxide (Damon et al, “Section 2.9”). Taking an individual approach, Carbon dioxide is a vital factor that has much effect on the making of the plant’s energy. It enters a plant’s leaves through the stomata, pores in the leaves that are involved in gas exchange.

There is partially a positive linear relationship between an increasing CO₂ concentration and the photosynthetic rate, and at some point, that relationship reaches a plateau in a graph (Damon et al, “Section 2.9”). When it comes to light intensity, which is measured by its wavelength and energy, the shorter wavelengths have a higher amount of energy whereas the longer wavelengths have a lower amount of energy. When to comes to temperature, the making of glucose from the reactants is controlled by enzymes. When temperatures go beyond the safe levels, those enzymes become denatured, meaning they have lost their function and reliability, which is irreversible (BBC Bitesize, “Photosynthesis”).

Carbon dioxide is also involved in the Calvin Cycle of photosynthesis. The first step in this cycle is carbon fixation, where CO₂ molecules contribute to producing glucose somewhere in each of its steps. What makes the Calvin cycle significant is that every living organism depends on it (Gunther, “Calvin Cycle”).

Purpose

The purpose of this scientific investigation is to determine if a gas that is produced from burning carbon and other organic compounds will have a negative or personal effect on the rate a photosynthesis. It will be conducted with one specific plant, which may disclose on results for most supplementary plants. One may perhaps choose to investigate this and become inquisitive about whether too much carbon dioxide gas is harming/killing our plants or allowing our plants to work faster. This investigation will provide a researcher and their associates with a mere image of this matter.

Research Question

The photosynthetic rate of plants may be measured with their leaves being made into portions. If plant leaves included different amounts of Carbon Dioxide, would those amounts affect the rate of photosynthesis within the leaves positively or negatively?

Hypothesis

If the amount of CO2 concentration increased in the leaves of Spinacia oleracea, or spinach, the rate of photosynthesis within the plant would increase with a positive correlation. The rate of reaction may reach a plateau unless light or temperature is also increased.

This is the predicted outcome of the experiment. Subjects incorporating higher amounts of CO₂ (2g & 2.5g) are expected to result in a graph that has similarity to the higher bar. Subjects incorporating amounts of CO₂ (1g & 1.5g) will result in a graph showing resemblance to the middle bar, followed by subjects including lower amounts of CO₂ (0g & 0.5g) reflecting the shortest bar. The Y values represent the productivity as a percentage.

Data Evaluation

The results of this experiment reflect on the rate of photosynthesis in Spinacia oleracea when it comes to applying variable amounts of carbon dioxide into the process. Over the course of both trials the number of chads that floated in the 0-gram solution remained at zero, resulting in a mean productivity of zero-percent over the course of a 15-minute period. What also stands out from the results is the 1-gram solution reaching perfect productivity in both trials. It is appropriate to say that if there is no carbon dioxide present, the plant will have little to no rate in this biological process. However, instead of a surplus amount, a moderate amount would result in better one. Scientists and researchers have claimed that once a high enough amount of CO₂ is present, the rate reaches a plateau. This is seen as false in the results because the productivity decreased rather than remained steady, as the amounts increased.

In the data containing the probability percentages, there is a repeated pattern in both trials. If the values of those percentages were put onto a line graph, a zigzag line appears. What this may indicate is that whole number amounts of the baking soda (1g & 2g) are somewhat more promising and useful.

Conclusion

We can conclude that there is a positive correlation between more moderate amounts of carbon dioxide and the rate/productivity of photosynthesis in plants. What was being investigated was simply this issue. The condition of the data moved towards disproving the predicted outcome that the highest amount of baking soda would result in the highest photosynthetic rate. In the bar graph showing the mean productivity over both trials, the 1 gram, the medium amount, made perfection, while the 2.5 grams did significantly worse.

Sources

1. “Photosynthesis.” BBC Bitesize, BBC, www.bbc.com/bitesize/guides/zx8vw6f/revision/2.
2. “Section 2.9.” Higher Level Biology, by Alan Damon et al., 2nd ed., Pearson Education Limited, 2014, pp. 108–109.
3. Gunther, Tim, and Mikayla Trotter. “Calvin Cycle.” National Geographic Society, National Geographic, 9 Nov. 2012, www.nationalgeographic.org/media/calvincycle/.
4. Younglove, Brent. ‘Biological Oxidation.’ Libretexts.
5. https://chem.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Biological_Chemistry/Supplemental_Modules_(Biological_Chemistry)/Metabolism/Catabolism/Biological_Oxidation