Carbon dioxide (CO
2) is categorized as a "greenhouse" gas in our atmosphere. Some scientists claim that CO
2 levels in our upper atmosphere are currently higher than ever before, and it is the leading cause of
global warming climate change. They also claim that these elevated levels are the direct result of activities of mankind, which include the burning of fossil fuels, power generation, transportation, deforestation, and the cement manufacturing industry. According to
Wikipedia, China has passed the United States as the world's leading producer of CO
2.
Carbon dioxide is produced by every living, breathing life form on the planet, every time it exhales. Every time we open a beer, a soft drink, or pop a Champaign cork, we are releasing CO
2 into the atmosphere. We employ many manufacturing processes which use and/or produce CO
2. There are also many
natural producers of CO
2, directly from Mother Earth herself; Volcanos, forest and wildfires, and natural decomposition of plants and animals.
So, the jury is still out on whether or not man is responsible for elevated levels of CO
2 in our upper atmosphere. For every scientist who says yes, there is another who says no. I think there is a large political influence in the argument, and the truth is, there is a lot of money to be made in the reduction of "man-made" CO
2 emissions.
So, then, should we ban all manufacture, use and consumption of carbonated beverages? Whoa! You quit burning your fossil fuels, but don't you
dare touch my beer and soda! How many cans of beer and soda are opened every day, globally? Doesn't all that CO
2 wind up in the atmosphere either directly as fizz, or later as a good belch? Should we ban all CO
2 fire extinguishers? Should we ban all manufacturing processes that use either CO
2 gas or dry ice? Should we ban all use of CO
2? Should we ban breathing, or should it be taxed in the form of "carbon credits?"
While my last paragraph may seem a little absurd, here is the same "problem" viewed from a different angle. It raises another question to which I have never heard a reasonable answer:
According to
molecular weight, carbon Dioxide (CO
2) is considerably heavier (44.01) than "air" (28.966). This is an irrefutable scientific fact. So, if CO
2 is
heavier than air, how does it get
up to our upper atmosphere, and what
keeps it there?