Carbon Dioxide The Cause of Climate Change? Blog Post #1 Unit 1: Matter, Chemical Trends and Bonding

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/23/science/carbon-dioxide-building-block-of-life-best-in-moderation.html

Researchers believe that carbon dioxide is the cause of climate change.

During Unit 1, we looked at many topics like; covalent bonds, compounds, elements on the periodic table, molecules and so much more. For my blog post, I will be talking about how researchers believe that carbon dioxide is responsible for climate change. Carbon dioxide is a molecular compound because we learned in unit 1 that a molecular compound is a pure substance that consists of molecules of two or more non metallic elements. Carbon dioxide is composed of both carbon and two parts of oxygen. Carbon dioxide (CO2), is a molecular compound that is double covalently bonded to one another. In Unit 1 we discussed about covalent bonds and about how it is a bond that occurs when two non metallic elements share electrons. Carbon is in group 14 on the periodic table, which means that it has only 4 valence electrons and it is one out of two elements in group 14 that can make covalent bonds with other non-metals. We also learned that oxygen is in group 16 of the periodic table with 6 valence electrons. Oxygen is the key component that helps us breathe everyday. It is also SATP( which means standard ambient temperature/pressure) which means that it can either be a solid, liquid or gas at room temperature. At room temperature oxygen is a gas. Carbon and oxygen are two of the most abundant elements besides nitrogen in the world. These two elements normally are bonded together when carbon is fueled into the air and mixes with the oxygen molecules in the air. Once these two elements are bonded they are suddenly in our atmosphere which creates problems for us.

In the article "Too Good Much Of a Good Thing", it talks about how recent research proves that carbon dioxide is the main cause of climate change. All the garbage that we throw out into landfills builds up to 40,000 pounds of carbon dioxide that is pumped up into the atmosphere. Power plants also burn carbon dioxide which is used to generate electricity into our everyday appliances, therefore more carbon dioxide is being pumped into the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is used in greenhouses because it is a gas. It may seem like carbon dioxide is good since they are used in greenhouses, but when they are used too much, they are released into the air which causes problems in the climate. The more we humans dig into the earth to take out the carbon contained inside from millions of years ago, the more carbon dioxide we will have in the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide can be used for good things but when too much is in the air, it can cause pollution, temperatures to rise, rainy weather and a lot of other climate change to our world.

After reading this article, I can conclude that it is very important that we stop burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere. We are harming ourselves and the world that we live in of this toxic gas. Once carbon is released into the air, it is able to bond with oxygen molecules which is how carbon dioxide is formed. Although CO2 may not seem harmful because we use it in greenhouse gases and for so many other things, it is actually more harmful then helpful. It is important that we cut down on the amount of gas and fuel that we use. For example inside of using a leaf blower to clean up leaves we should use the good old fashion rake to clean up. It is important that we know in advance that carbon dioxide is harmful for our planet, that it should be used efficiently and that we are not burning up waste. Would we humans be able to get rid of carbon dioxide for good? Or is it going to continue to be in our atmosphere and cause more climate change?