For many years now, we have heard the talk about global warming. Many of us know that global warming is a rise in the Earth’s temperature. This occurs due to many factors, one of which is an increase in the atmospheric levels of carbon dioxide. Some of us are even fortunate enough to understand how cellular respiration works and know that carbon dioxide is a natural waste product of our bodies. In the middle of my evolutionary biology class this semester, I found myself appalled by when my professor claimed that human carbon dioxide production attributed to the warming of earth’s atmosphere. The exact conversation went something like this:
Professor: What else is an indicator of life, it’s been a cause of recent changes in the environment like global warming?
Student: Metabolic processes that produce carbon dioxide.
Professor: Exactly, all of those are signs that something is living….
Okay, wait, what just happened. Did my college professor relay to an entire class that by just living, we and all aerobic life cause the deterioration of the Earth? If that was true, why would there ever be life on Earth? Given what we know about natural selection and other forces of evolution, things not favorable to an environment are generally eliminated.
Global warming is the result of ancient carbon in the atmosphere with the use of fossil fuels. Since the Industrial Revolution, fossil fuels have become a major energy source. For this reason, global warming is more apparent during recent times.
Generally, the carbon produced via metabolic processes today are compatible with the plants that exist who are thus able to utilize this carbon dioxide to create oxygen for us. YAY, A FEEDBACK LOOP. But, when ancient carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere, the plants that exist today are not compatible with the molecular structure so it cannot cycle through this loop. As this carbon dioxide remains in the atmosphere, it traps heat without sunlight. This is bad because there are no beneficiary effects.
In order for the problem of global warming to subside, the general public needs to have a better understanding of what it is exactly. And that begins by someone opening up the conversation with just about anyone because this, this will affect everyone.
