Introduction

Unbeknownst to many citizens, the way we produce our carbon footprint has a heavy
influence on the day to day change of our environment. Every day, roughly 7 billion people burn
fossil fuels through the power of our Industrial Revolution; burning the fuel used to power ones
car, to heat ones home, and creating heat during certain stages of factory use are all influences of
carbon emissions. According to the non-profit organization Whats Your Impact?, in 2011 we
had created 33.2 billion tons of carbon emissions worldwide: Coal is responsible for 43% of
carbon dioxide emissions from fuel combustion, 36% is produced by oil and 20% from natural
gas. Our uses of natural fossil fuel sources will only continue to increase these numbers over the
years, unless we become thoroughly educated and passionate about the ways we can reduce such
carbon footprints.

Objectives

1. Simulate the effects of carbon emissions and record the data.

2. Recognize the highest influence of carbon emissions.
3. Determine and analyze how one source of carbon emissions effects all sources around it.

Hypothesis

I believe the given simulation will influence and expand the personal view of the
learners carbon footprint, how the learner views the way the Industrial Revolution effects the
environment, and also give a window of measurement on a larger scale; This is in terms of how
specific sources influence its surrounding environment, and how long does the said influence
linger within its environment.

Results

CHAPTER 2 DATA TABLES: CARBON CYCLE

LESSON 1

Lesson 1:
Gaseous Biosphere Gaseous
Step 1 Ocean Water Fossil Fuels
Carbon Carbon
To Year Ocean Deep Oil and Terrestrial
Atmosphere Coal Soil
Surface Ocean Gas Plants
2050 941/519ppm 1085 38170 190 3264 2026 743
2100 1888/1042ppm 1275 38845 0 1433 2113 862
Lesson 1:
Total Carbon Gaseous Biosphere Gaseous
Step 2 Ocean Water Fossil Fuels
Emissions Carbon Carbon
To Year Ocean Deep Oil and Terrestrial
Smokestack Atmosphere Coal Soil
Surface Ocean Gas Plants
2010 0 720/391ppm 1000 38000 500 3500 2000 700
2020 99 753/415ppm 1035 38021 444 3457 2002 708
2030 121 806/445ppm 1050 38057 375 3405 2008 718
2040 147 868/479ppm 1066 38107 292 3342 2016 730
2050 179 941/519ppm 1085 38170 190 3264 2026 743
2060 218 1031/569ppm 1107 38250 66 3170 2038 758
2070 301 1171/646ppm 1137 38349 0 2933 2051 776
2080 405 1364/753ppm 1178 38478 0 2528 2068 801
2090 493 1598/882ppm 1224 38642 0 2035 2089 830
2100 601 1888/1042ppm 1275 8845 0 1433 2113 862

Responses to questions
1. I believe that if there was half the amount of flora existing in the year 2100, I believe the carbon levels
would be larger than the amount they had started in 2010, due to there being less flora in the
simulation. The only way I could think of this to reflect in the simulation is to increase the net
deforestation rate per year from 1 GT to 2 GT.
2. I believe the relation between the soil and water is that they are directly beside each other, which could
cause the water to flow into the soil. Since the water and soil are side by side, the carbon that the water
contains could be transferred into the soil. If this occurs, this could mean that if the level of carbon
increases or decreases in one element, it should do the same in the other.
3. The relations between flora and fossil fuel consumption and increased carbon would be that each
element could assist the other; if the carbon increases due to fossil fuel consumption, this could
potentially cause the flora to flourish, seeing as plants feed on carbon. I dont believe the impact could
be largely significant to the flora population, it may take more carbon intake to allow the flora to flourish.
4. The relations between the smokestack and the increased carbon on the ocean surface is also directly
related; if the smokestack emits more carbon, the surface water will increase in carbon as well. Marine
populations could be heavily effected, as marine life must absorb the level of oxygen in the water to
properly breathe. If there is less oxygen and more carbon to absorb, this could cause a decrease in
marine life and make the water uninhabitable.
5. I believe excess carbon can be found in the deep ocean, (it seems to hold the largest amount of
carbon, which in turn could take some time for the amount to decrease) atmosphere and in the soil. In
fifty years, I believe that the deep ocean or soil will still have large traces of carbon in it, since each
element is capable of retaining large amounts of carbon.
6. I believe the most areas that are directly affected from carbon emissions would be the atmosphere (the
smokestack emits directly into the atmosphere), and the soil. For humans, the quality of our
atmosphere could affect our health if there is less oxygen intake and more carbon intake. The
increased carbon would be beneficial to the plants for our agriculture, so in turn, the soil may cause
plants to thrive in these conditions.

Notes
Discussion

Ibelievethislabdidgivegreatinsightinthewayscarbonemissionseffectand
lingerwithinourenvironment.Priortothissimulation,Iwasawarethatweareconstantly
creatingacarbonfootprint,butdidnotrealizehowlargeofafootprintthatcouldbeover
time,nordidIrealizehowlongtheeffectsofcarbonemissionswouldlingerovertime.In
thesimulation,rightfromthefirstemissionofcarbonfromthesmokestack,theamount
ofcarbononlygrewovertimewithintheatmosphere,theDeepOcean,oceansurface,and
evenwithintheflora.Evenafterthefossilfuelswerelonggonefromtheequation,their
effectsstillinfluencedhowourenvironmentflourished,alongwiththeotherfactors
surroundingit.Ibelievethissimulationdidaccomplishthegivenobjectivestoitsfullest
extent,asitdidgiveaheavyinputofevidencewithintherecordeddatashowingits
influenceontheenvironment.Theseresultsfromthesimulationwouldbedeemedvery
similartohowourrealworldenvironmentisinfluenced,ascarbonfootprintshavebeena
majortopicfromenvironmentalistsandconservationistsforsometimenow.The
disappointingaspectofitallisthatdespitetheoverwhelmingevidence,thegeneral
publiccontinuestogiveablindeyetothesubject.ThementalityofImjustoneperson,
whatinfluencedoItrulyhave?hasturnedintoaninfectiousmindsetofsortsand
continuestospread.Becomingproperlyinfluencedthrougheducation,Ibelieve,can
slowlyturnthismindsetaround.Ifwebegintobetterinformthepublicoftheir
significantcarboninfluence,thisintheendwillcreateabiggerpictureofwhaterrorscan
becorrectedovertime.Ifwealsocreatealternativestobeavailable,suchasproper
outletsinpublicsettingstorecycle(especiallyinheavilypopulatedcountries)or
encouragingtheuseofpublictransportationandusinglesselectricity,inturnwecan
slowlystarttoseethereductionincarbonemissions.

Resources

LaMeaux,E.C."HowDoesYourCarbonFootprintImpactClimateChange?"
HowDoesYourCarbonFootprintImpactClimateChange?GaiamLife,n.d.
Web.29Feb.2016.<http://life.gaiam.com/article/howdoesyourcarbon
footprintimpactclimatechange>.
"WhatAretheMainSourcesofCarbonDioxideEmissions?"What'sYourImpact.
What'sYourImpact,n.d.Web.29Feb.2016.
<http://whatsyourimpact.org/greenhousegases/carbondioxidesources>.