Earth's atmosphere now contains nitrogen (78%), oxygen (21%), argon (1%) with a trace amount of carbon dioxide (currently about 0.041 % (410 ppm (parts per million) by volume and traces of other gases. The atmosphere also contains 4% to 1% of water vapour depending upon the locality. This is enough water to cover the entire land and ocean surface of the Earth with about 25 mm (one inch) of rain.
Almost all plant life on Earth is totally dependent on atmospheric carbon dioxide for growth and almost all other life depends, directly or indirectly, on plants for food.
The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has remained fairly stable for the past 800,000 years ranging from about 170 ppm (parts per million) during cooler periods to about 290 ppm during warmer periods. But in the past 200 years it has increase to 410 ppm probably as a result of our use of coal, oil and natural gas as energy sources.
The increase suggest that we are producing more CO2 than can be absorbed by more plant life although there is evidence that forested areas are increasing.
Methane (a potent greenhouse gas (GHG)) makes up about 1,800 parts per billion (just 0.00018%) of the atmosphere, compared to 0.41% for carbon dioxide. There not much methane in the atmosphere as it easily burns with atmospheric oxygen leaving water and CO2.
Free molecules of oxygen normally consist of two atoms of oxygen linked together, except in the ozone layer, in the upper part of the atmosphere, where solar radiation creates oxygen molecules with three atoms known as ozone. These are unstable and are constantly created by solar radiation but they benefit life on Earth's surface by preventing much of the sun's ultra violet radiation from reaching the ground.
All plants and many microbes absorb carbon dioxide and release oxygen until the organism dies, when it decomposes and releases carbon dioxide (and methane, another green house gas) into the atmosphere. So, an increase in plant life should permanently reduce atmospheric carbon dioxide as more trees store more carbon.
The average mature maple tree locks-up about 113 kilograms (250 pounds) of carbon until it dies. Thus deforestation is a bad idea and should be reversed promptly. Also, carbon dioxide can be sequestered in the Earth or converted into a stable non gaseous state like graphite. In the past this occurred naturally, over millions of years, in the sediment at the bottom of shallow seas and extensive swamps and marshes; where it was converted into natural gas (mostly methane), oil and coal.
Our rapid use of these fossil fuels implies that more solar radiation will be trapped by the increase in carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, and this may cause drastic changes in the climate.
This basic theory may be too simplistic, as a warmer climate will cause the evaporating of more water creating clouds that may reflect more radiation back into space while transporting more water away from equatorial regions.
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