The Story Of Carbon
Claims of man-made climate change became popular because the average person is not interested in dry science; and this part could be the driest, albeit most intriguing of the whole series. I think a little dry science is crucial medicine for the sake of our future. Only pure science can dispel junk science.
What Is Carbon?
I was taught at school Carbon was an Element. My teacher said an element was a unique substance that “existed” in nature, whereas a compound was something “made” of more than one element combined together by a chemical or other process. Why do we keep hearing of carbon emissions? Can anything emit carbon? Can anyone produce carbon?
Where Does Carbon Come From?
Pure science is simple and beautiful, especially when you don’t have to write exams! Charles Snow wrote in his collection The Two Cultures: “Science is, in its intellectual depth, complexity and articulation, the most beautiful and wonderful collective work of the mind of man”.
You see, humans cannot create or “emit” carbon any more than they can emit gold. Otherwise, we would have been making gold long time ago; and could have saved ourselves all the drama that came with the gold rush eras. Creation of carbon, gold, iron and all other elements, is part of the complex dynamics of our universe; and has zero connection with the inhabitants of planet Earth. To understand that, let us indulge in a little bit of physics. Please don’t run away, it is fun!
Hydrogen is a gas and is the most abundant element in the universe. It is also its simplest and lightest element. The sun, which is a star, is a place where hydrogen is going through a magnificent physical phenomenon called nuclear fusion. Two atoms of hydrogen fuse together to form one atom of Helium and in the process release a huge explosive amount of energy. Very high heat and pressure are necessary to make the fusion happen in the first place; and the sun has lots of both. Please don’t get bored! It will get better. In the later part of the 19th century, scientists realized the possibility of nuclear fusion; but it wasn’t until the 20th century that Einstein was able to calculate exactly how much energy it produced. Of course, the first thing we did was to fuse hydrogen in a bomb to annihilate each other with (that is why it is called hydrogen bomb). What does this have to do with carbon, you say? Well, as the star’s temperature and pressure in its core increase, helium, which is the product of fusing hydrogen, begins to get fused with itself and becomes carbon. Beautiful science isn’t it! Lots more energy is released when helium is fused. That is why our sun will get much hotter as time goes on and will eventually vaporize all its nearby planets. At the present stage of its life, it is still fusing only hydrogen (thankfully). Each fusion step increases the temperature and pressure and leads to more fusion and creation of heavier elements in the core of a star. Eventually after a few billion years, iron is formed and the star runs out of fusion energy. At that point, depending on the mass of the specific star, it “dies” in a massive explosion (super nova) spreading its elements into space where the debris clump together forming new planets and asteroids. The moral of this odyssey is that the resulting planets and asteroids are formed with fixed quotas of elements, including carbon. All carbon on earth came that way and it cannot be made or emitted any other way; not in a factory nor a power plant, nor the guts of a cow nor anywhere else other than the hot core of a star! Even those nasty capitalists in the energy industry cannot make or emit one gram of carbon.
So, What Are Carbon Emissions?
For the global warming movement, targeting CO2 content in the air, exclusively, became harder to publicize because, as we discussed, the laws of physics dictate that such a small proportion cannot affect the temperature of earth’s atmosphere. A catchy phrase with good sound bites was needed. One which points fingers at CO2 and methane (poor cows) and at the same time takes the attention away from the fact that no matter what humans do to CO2 content in the air, it would be way too small to make a difference in global temperatures or climate.
Man-made global warming publicists have been very successful in rallying many people, especially younger ones, into a frenzy of parrot talk about “Carbon Emissions” in spite of the scientific fact that there is no such a thing in nature as carbon emission. It never ceases to amaze me how honest scientists remain silent when a ridiculous slogan like this is introduced. The science of carbon creation in the core of stars (only) is not a secret in the scientific community. Yet no one says a word. How sad!
In spite of being scientifically false and absurd, the phrase Carbon Emissions continues to be used with impunity; and that is only because the science of earth’s heat balance has become a free for all game for ideological and political fanaticism. True science no longer counts. Everything is being assigned a carbon footprint. With zero scientific relevance, climate change enthusiasts label everything with a number that reflects how much “carbon” the process would “generate” with blatant disregard of the fact that there is no process in the universe that can emit carbon other than nuclear fusion within a star. Humans do not and cannot produce carbon. We only recycle compounds that have carbon in their molecules. Feel empowered to say that to your family and friends and especially young people, please!
Water (H2O) is a hydrogen oxide and CO2 is a carbon oxide. Calling CO2 “Carbon Emission” is just as scientifically false as calling water “Hydrogen Emission”. Can you imagine how ridiculous it would be if we all start calling water or steam “Hydrogen Emission”.
What Exactly Does Carbon Do On Earth?
Carbon can take the form of coal, graphite or diamond (diamond is pure carbon that had been crystallized under high temperature and pressure deep beneath earth’s surface). The real beauty of carbon, however, is in its wide-spread presence in life-giving compounds. The cereal you might have had for breakfast is mostly carbohydrates. These are compounds that consist of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen chemically bonded together. Sugar and flour are common forms of carbohydrates. The paper you write on is made of natural cellulose which is a highly complex carbohydrate. All fat, whether peanut butter or the fat under our skins, has carbon in it. Carbon is a magic vehicle that cycles energy throughout the complex ecosystem. Our bodies convert most of what we eat into simple sugars. Only then our bodies can produce energy to live on. In an oversimplified way, our cells use the oxygen we breathe to burn the sugars, turning the carbon part into carbon dioxide (CO2), which we exhale. Plants breathe in carbon dioxide, and with the aid of light, use it to make carbohydrates then “exhale” oxygen. We breathe that oxygen, eat the carbohydrates and the cycle continues. How beautiful is that?! None of this could happen without the magic of carbon. Carbon is the essence of life on earth!
Carbon is present in another extremely useful family of compounds: Hydrocarbons. Those are compounds formed by the bonding of carbon and hydrogen together; and occur in numerous combinations. They are a precious source of energy as well as raw material for some incredible products we rely on in our daily lives, ranging from skin lotions to utensils. Petroleum oil and natural gas are examples of those hydrocarbons that exist in nature. They are a gift from our planet. When burned in their pure form, they produce heat, carbon oxides and water. That is it!! Any unpleasant or harmful by-products of burning these fuels are due to impurities that can and should be removed. Such impurities have nothing to do with carbon or global warming!!
When you encounter ominous pictures of industrial smokestacks in a typical doom and gloom image of our dying planet, please know that the whitish puffs spewing out of them are not sinister deadly emissions. They are actually water vapor! Next time you see such an image on TV please remember that.
This does not mean we go around burning hydrocarbons haphazardly. Conserving Energy and reducing pollution are noble causes and essential to the health and future of our planet. We must purify those hydrocarbons before we burn them so as not to produce harmful by-products, such as sulphur and nitrogen oxides. You have to teach your kids though that a pure hydrocarbon substance can give us clean energy when treated properly and that the technology for proper treatment of those substances is readily available.
What You Can Do
When you here the phrase carbon emissions, which happens an awful lot in many settings these days, please speak up. Now you know something many don’t. There is no such a thing as a carbon emission. It is impossible for humans to make or emit carbon. Mention the fact that carbon is extremely beneficial and an essential part of all biological life cycles including that of humans. Calling Carbon Dioxide a carbon emission is just as ridiculous as calling water a Hydrogen Emission. And, as you now know from other parts of this series, Carbon Dioxide is not a sinister substance and it cannot overheat the planet or cause change in our climate. It is up to you, and the other few sane people left, to speak up against this junk science hysteria.
