What do we harvest carbon from?

To answer the question of what we harvest carbon from, we need to understand where carbon originates from in the first place. Carbon is an essential element that exists in various forms in the environment. It is a building block of life and cycles through the carbon cycle.

Here's how you can determine what we harvest carbon from:

1. Biomass: Carbon is obtained from living or recently deceased organisms, such as plants, animals, microorganisms, and their byproducts. Biomass can be harvested from forests, crops, livestock, and organic waste materials.

2. Fossil Fuels: Carbon is also obtained from fossil fuels, which are formed from the remains of ancient plants and animals buried deep underground over millions of years. Coal, petroleum (oil), and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels.

3. Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the Atmosphere: Carbon can be captured from the atmosphere in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2). Human activities, such as burning fossil fuels, deforestation, and industrial processes, contribute to the increase in atmospheric CO2 levels.

4. Industrial Processes: Carbon is harvested from various industrial processes, such as cement production, steelmaking, and chemical manufacturing. These processes release and utilize carbon as raw materials or byproducts.

By understanding the sources of carbon mentioned above, we can conclude that carbon is harvested from biomass, fossil fuels, the atmosphere (in the form of CO2), and various industrial processes.