Carbon Dioxide or Oxygen – Which is the real issue

A slightly different theme today

This is a question, which I don’t know the answer to but does puzzle me.

Carbon Dioxide is a combination of one carbon atom and 2 oxygen atoms

Now we are all suppose to know that carbon dioxide is a bad thing but I have always wondered if it’s for the reason we are think so.

As we produce carbon dioxide we are effectively bonding oxygen to this compound, ie two parts oxygen to one part carbon, so does that mean that the amount of oxygen we have available as a planet will decrease.

Yes – I understand that plankton and trees breakdown carbon dioxide and release the oxygen but if the level of carbon dioxide keeps increasing, the level of oxygen available to us will keep decreasing.  -  and both plankton and trees are releasing bonded oxygen, not making new oxygen

And if the amount of plankton decreases, which is the latest worry, will the level of carbon dioxide being broken down decrease – so again will this results in less oxygen available to us

Also we now live in a plastic loving world and many plastics are made up of compounds and many incorporate oxygen into them – effectively locking it away and therefore unavailable to us.

Add to this that fact that the earth is constantly leaking oxygen into space – small amounts but it does happen.

From analysis I have read, scientists have studied oxygen levels trapped in amber and this show the oxygen level on our  planet were around 35%, currently it is around 18%, and decreasing  – and anything less than 15% causes us humans to have problems breathing

So  – is the real issue an increase in carbon dioxide or a decrease in oxygen.

Anyone have any thoughts on this.

Mark Tolley

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