Why are rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere harmful?
1. Carbon dioxide traps heat in Earth's atmosphere.
2. Carbon dioxide harms plant life.
3. Carbon dioxide blocks the sun's rays from reaching Earth's surface.
4. Carbon dioxide increases people's risk of asthma.
1. Carbon dioxide traps heat in Earth's atmosphere, leading to global warming and climate change. This can cause a range of negative impacts, including rising sea levels, more extreme weather events, and the loss of plant and animal species. Additionally, increased temperatures can lead to food and water shortages, as well as health risks such as heat strokes and the spread of disease. Thus, rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are harmful because they contribute to these serious environmental and societal problems.
2. While plants need carbon dioxide to grow, too much carbon dioxide can harm them by disrupting their growth, nutrient balance, and photosynthesis process. This can have cascading effects on ecosystems and negatively impact food production.
3. Carbon dioxide does not block the sun's rays from reaching Earth's surface - rather, it helps to trap some of that energy within the atmosphere.
4. While there is some evidence linking higher levels of carbon dioxide to increased respiratory problems such as asthma, it is not a direct harm of rising carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere.