Carbon dioxide is commonly portrayed as a villain tied to emissions and warming, but that view is narrow. CO2 functions as a central component of Earth's four-billion-year carbon cycle, shaping climate, geology, and biological evolution. The molecule contributed to planetary formation and has regulated climate over eons, enabling and constraining life. Long-term fluctuations in atmospheric CO2 influenced events from the origins of life to the rise of human civilization and the structure of global economies. Understanding CO2 provides insight into the interconnected physical and biological processes that form the fabric of the planet.
It is the molecule that built our planet, forming the global carbon cycle that has regulated climate, shaped geology and powered evolution for eons. He shows how the ebb and flow of atmospheric CO2 across Earth's vast history has played a role in, yes, practically everything under the sunfrom the primordial origins of life to the development of human civilization and our global economic system.
When we talk about carbon dioxide, the narrative is almost always that of a modern-day morality play. We hear about gigatons of CO2 emitted, about rising global temperatures and about the dire, unheeded warnings of climate scientists. In these tales, CO2 often seems less like a mute, inert molecule and more like an evil supervillaina malevolent force that has been plotting for centuries to wreak havoc on our planet and ruin our lives.
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