Where Is Carbon Dioxide Found?

Carbon dioxide is found just about everywhere. It is exhaled from our lungs and is a by-product of cellular function. When fossil fuels are burned or vegetation decays, carbon dioxide is also produced. The level of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has risen drastically in the last 150 years.  This is caused by humans burning fossil fuels and deforestation. Lets look at some other places where carbon dioxide is found, its discovery and examine its effect on the environment. 

Carbon dioxide is found everywhere. It is one carbon atom that is joined with two oxygen atoms.  There is an almost infinite list of where carbon dioxide can be found. For example:

• Carbon dioxide is found in carbonated drinks and is the characteristic bubbles in them.  The bubbles occur because carbon dioxide is only water soluble when there is sufficient pressure.  When the pressure drops, caused by opening the can or bottle, the gas tries to escape into the atmosphere.

• We know that carbon dioxide is found in animal’s breath when it is exhaled.

• Carbon dioxide is produced from the burning of fossil fuels.
• It is used in fire extinguishers and to make fog using dry ice. 
• It is produced from the decaying of vegetable matter.
• Chemical changes in bedrock produce carbon dioxide.

These are the prime places to find carbon dioxide being produced. Lets take a more detailed look at carbon dioxide as it is found in the environment.

Carbon Dioxide and the Environment

Green plants, in the presence of sunlight, change carbon dioxide and water into food in a process called photosynthesis.  This process produces glucose for food and energy and has a by-product of oxygen, which is released into the air.  This oxygen is used by animals for cellular function and a by-product of these processes is carbon dioxide.  This process is called respiration, which is the opposite of photosynthesis. 

These two processes depend on one another to provide life for the plants and animals on this planet.  During the warmer months and the growing season, photosynthesis will dominate and during the colder months, respiration will dominate.  These two processes are constantly occurring.

Negative Effects of Carbon Dioxide

There are some negative effects on animals if they are exposed to too much carbon dioxide.  Too much can interfere with the amounts of oxygen and nitrogen, thus effecting respiration.  Effects include:

• Headaches
• Difficulty breathing
• Dizziness
• Drowsiness
• Poor concentration
• Increased heart rate and blood pressure
• Brain damage
• Coma
• Death from asphyxiation

It is important to have fresh air circulating in buildings to avoid these complications of stagnant air where carbon dioxide levels can rise to unhealthy levels.  People need to take precautions when around large amounts of manure or in a grain silo, where carbon dioxide is produced by decomposition.

Discovery of Carbon Dioxide

The person who identified carbon dioxide was Joseph Black, from Scotland. 

• He lived from 1728 to 1799 and did experiments on heat and how it changed materials. He observed a gas that was created when limestone was heated or treated with acids. 
• He called it “fixed air” and knew it was denser than air and did not support either fire or life. 
• At room temperatures, it is odorless, colorless and is not flammable. 
• Black discovered that carbon dioxide is found as a result of animal respiration and fermentation.

Is it a good thing that there's so much carbon dioxide? Let’s see how too much carbon dioxide can effect our environment.

Carbon Dioxide and Global Warming

The increase in the carbon dioxide levels is mainly caused by the burning of fossil fuels and deforestation. These greenhouse gasses trap some of the sun’s energy and trap it near the surface of the earth.  If it were not for this greenhouse effect, the earth would be covered in ice.  However, there is now too many of these gasses and the earth’s temperature is rising to unhealthy levels and this is called global warming.  

Effects of global warming are the melting of the ice caps, which for one thing, changes the salinity of the oceans.  That one thing alone is enough to alter all the ecosystems on the earth and make dramatic climate changes.  Melting ice caps will also cause the sea levels to rise, which will affect the low-lying areas by the oceans and will also affect habitats around the world.  The only way to stop this is to lower our emissions of greenhouse gasses.

Carbon dioxide is one of the most prevalent gases in our atmosphere and is a major element in animal and plant life.