What is Carbon Footprint What is Carbon Footprint  Is a measure of the impact our activities have on the environment, and in particular climate change. It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases produced in our day to day lives through burning fossil fuels for electricity, heating and transprotation.

Carbon Footprint Graph

What is carbon dioxide  Carbon dioxide is an inorganic chemical compound with a wide range of commercial uses, from the production of lasers to the carbonation of soft drinks. This compound exists naturally from the Earth's environment, and it is produced in a variety of ways; commercial carbon dioxide is usually derived from the byproducts of industrial processes. This humble gas has become a topic of interest for humans because it is classified among the greenhouse gases, gases which impact the Earth's environment when they reach high concentrations in the atmosphere.

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Where on earth do we find carbon dioxide?  Carbon dioxide can be found mainly in air, but also in water as a part of the carbon cycle.

The aquatic carbon cycle

The terrestrial Carbon Cycle

How to help reduce this How to help reduce this  Some things that you can do :  Turn it off when not in use ( lights, television, DVD player, HI FI, computer)  Turn down the central heating slightly  Turn down the water heating setting  Check the central heating timer setting remember there is no point heating the house after you have left for work  Do your weekly shopping in a single trip  Hang out the washing to dry rather than tumble drying it

Reduce cont. Travel less and travel more carbon footprint friendly. -Car share to work, or for the kids school run -Use the bus or a train rather than your car -For short journeys either walk or cycle -Try to reduce the number of flights you take -See if your employer will allow you to work from home one day a week

Effects  The troposphere is the lower part of the atmosphere, of about kilometers thick.  When sun light reaches the earth, some of the converted to heat.  Life as we know it exists only because of this natural greenhouse effect, because this process regulates the earth’s temperature.

Carbon dioxide emissions by humans  Due to human activities, the amount of CO2 released into the atmosphere has been rising extensively during the last 150 years. As a result, it has exceeded the amount sequestered in biomass, the oceans, and other sinks.  Humans have been increasing the amount of carbon dioxide in air by burning of fossil fuels, by producing cement and by carrying out land clearing and forest combustion.

Carbon Dioxide and health  Carbon dioxide is essential for internal respiration in a human body. Internal respiration is a process, by which oxygen is transported to body tissues and carbon dioxide is carried away from them.  Carbon dioxide is a guardian of the pH of the blood, which is essential for survival

Balances in Carbon Dioxide Levels  Approximately 90 to 100 Pg of carbon moves back and forth between the atmosphere and the oceans, and between the atmosphere and the land biosphere. Although these exchange rates are large relative to the total amount of carbon stored in the atmosphere, the concentration of CO2 was constant

Facts  Marine plants and animals play a role in the uptake and release of carbon dioxide in the ocean. Plants, primarily phytoplankton but also macro-phytes such as this seaweed, take up carbon dioxide and release oxygen, which oxygen-dependent animals need to survive.