Is there any relationship between global warming and carbon dioxide emissions?

Of course it does. And carbon dioxide is one of the fundamental causes of global warming!

Tetris, everyone must be very familiar with it.

In fact, the earth has been playing a similar game called "eliminate carbon cubes" for a long time.

These blocks enter the atmosphere as carbon dioxide through volcanic eruptions, decaying plants, breathing organisms, and the surface of the ocean. They leave the atmosphere when they are absorbed by photosynthesis of plants, absorbed by oceans, or stored in soil and sediments. Just like after the various blocks in Tetris are seamlessly superimposed, "bang", they all disappear!

This "eliminate carbon cubes" game is called the carbon cycle, and it is the power source of life on earth.

But what does this have to do with climate?

Well, when this carbon dioxide waits in the atmosphere to be reabsorbed, it locks in some of the sun's thermal energy that would otherwise escape into space. This is why carbon dioxide is called a "greenhouse gas."

It forms a warm surface layer, which is known as the "greenhouse effect", which prevents our earth from being as cold as Mars. The more carbon dioxide that stays in the atmosphere, waiting to be reabsorbed, the warmer the planet becomes.

Although the carbon content in the atmosphere has changed a lot due to the ice ages and asteroid impacts, over the past 8,000 years, the stable climate we are familiar with began to take shape, which also allowed human civilization to Prosperity.

But about 200 years ago, we began to dig up the ancient carbon buried underground. Those fossil fuels, coal, oil, and natural gas are made up of the buried remains of plants and animals that died long before humans evolved. The energy stored inside them can power factories, cars and power plants. However, burning these fuels also releases new carbon cubes into the planet's "eliminate carbon cubes" game.

At the same time, we clear forests for agriculture, reducing the planet's ability to clear those carbon cubes. The amount of carbon in the atmosphere has increased by 40% since 1750 and shows no signs of slowing down.

Just like the Tetris game, as the number of blocks increases, it becomes more and more difficult to eliminate, and it becomes more and more difficult to restore balance.

Extra carbon dioxide in the atmosphere traps more heat energy on the Earth's surface, accelerating the greenhouse effect and causing polar ice caps to melt. The more they melt, the less sunlight they can reflect, causing the oceans to heat up faster. As sea levels rise, coastal populations are threatened by flooding, natural ecosystems are destroyed, and extreme weather becomes more frequent.

Climate change will affect different places and different people in different ways. But ultimately, this is a game that we all have a part in.

Unlike the Tetris game, once the GAME OVER. we will not have the chance to come back.