Positive and Negative Effects of Carbon Dioxide on the Environment - Essay Example

Carbon dioxide makes up approximately twenty-six percent of the gases needed for a greenhouse effect to take place (Weart, 2009). When the greenhouse effect takes place, so does the concept of global warming; the two processes go hand-in-hand with each other, with the greenhouse effect leading to global warming. Carbon dioxide makes up approximately twenty-six percent of the gases needed for a greenhouse effect to take place (Weart, 2009). When the greenhouse effect takes place, so does the concept of global warming; the two processes go hand-in-hand with each other, with the greenhouse effect leading to global warming.

As aforementioned, carbon dioxide also has positive effects on the environment. The biggest one is the creation of oxygen. Plants absorb carbon dioxide, convert it to oxygen, and release it back into the environment. We, as humans, then breathe in the oxygen, and when we release the oxygen, it becomes carbon dioxide again. It becomes a never-ending cycle between plants and humans. Furthermore, carbon dioxide aids in the process of photosynthesis, feeding the plants and keeping them alive (“Carbon Dioxide”).

Without carbon dioxide, there can be no photosynthesis of the plants, and therefore no food to keep them alive. Without living plants, there is nothing to convert carbon dioxide into oxygen for human beings and animals to breathe. We become dependent on each other to live. Again, it becomes a cycle that must be adhered to.