Summary
Highlights
The Earth plays a game similar to Tetris with carbon blocks. Carbon dioxide enters the atmosphere from volcanoes, decaying matter, breathing creatures, and the sea surface. It leaves through photosynthesis, oceanic absorption, and storage in soil and sediment. This natural process is called the carbon cycle and is vital for life.
Carbon dioxide in the air traps the sun's heat, preventing it from escaping to space, which is why it's a greenhouse gas. This creates a warming blanket, the greenhouse effect, keeping Earth from freezing. More carbon dioxide in the atmosphere leads to a warmer Earth.
Around 200 years ago, humans began extracting and burning fossil fuels (coal, oil, natural gas) – ancient stored carbon. This added new carbon blocks to Earth's atmospheric 'Tetris game'. Simultaneously, deforestation reduced Earth's capacity to remove these blocks. Since 1750, atmospheric carbon has increased by 40% and continues to rise.
The increased atmospheric carbon dioxide accelerates the greenhouse effect, trapping more heat. This melts polar ice caps, which in turn reduces sunlight reflection, causing oceans to warm faster. Consequences include rising sea levels, threats to coastal populations, ecosystem disruption, and more extreme weather. Climate change affects everyone, and unlike Tetris, there's no reset button.