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"Breathing contributes to carbon dioxide, so higher carbon dioxide level is just from population increase"





Brief Responses to Climate Change Denialism Statements

CPSG 200 Science & Global Change Sophomore Colloquium

Breathing contributes to carbon dioxide, so higher carbon dioxide level is just from population increase

The process of respiration, as we all know, is simple: you inhale oxygen and you exhale carbon dioxide. Although, the carbon dioxide we exhale actually does not add any new net carbon to the atmosphere at all. Carbon continuously flows throughout the atmosphere through the means of a cycle known as the carbon cycle. Essentially, the carbon we exhale is already existing in this continuous cycle and therefore we do not add new carbon to the atmosphere at all. The amount of carbon at the beginning is the same as the amount of carbon at the end. Thus, human respiration is a part of the natural carbon cycle meaning there is no net increase in carbon contributed to the atmosphere. Carbon is only added to the atmosphere when we as humans forcefully remove previous sources of carbon that had been stored such as fossil fuels. Now that we have established that breathing does not contribute to carbon dioxide increase, we can factor that the population of our world is increasing. This means there are more humans that need oxygen to breathe and exhale CO2. Given this population increase, we cannot forget what this means-- simply more people are partaking in this cycle. A greater population may seemingly exhale more carbon dioxide, but in reality, they are creating this carbon dioxide from the same pool of carbon, already existing in the atmosphere. The cycle continues with the plants and animals and back to humans the same way, there just are more people in the human respiration step of the cycle. A greater population has no net effect on the carbon dioxide cycle, and we can conclude that higher carbon dioxide level is not just from population increase.

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For More Information:
Sources: Santhaham, N. 30 October, 2016. "Does our breathing contribute to global warming?" Cleantech Guide. 5 October 2018.

Cook, J. 13 September, 2018. "Does breathing contribute to CO2 buildup in the atmosphere?" Skeptical Science. 6 October 2018.


Contributed by: Pelumi Olufuwa, Leah Jamison, Jessica Jackson

Last modified: 08 October 2018