Factors drv. Change

• Processing of limestone into cement is one of the largest single sources of manmade carbon dioxide other than fossil fuel use.
• Calcium carbonate is heated to produce lime for cement, releasing carbon dioxide as a major bi product.
• The fuel needed to reach the high processing temperatures of cement production adds to the release of carbon dioxide.
• Every 1000kg of cement produced equates to 900kg of GTC.
• Industrial processes produce methane which is 30x more potent than carbon dioxide.
• Cement manufacture produces approximately 5% of global anthropogenic carbon dioxide. 50% of carbon dioxide is produced by the chemical process and 40% from burning fuel to power this process.
• The combustion of vegetation and the loss of photosynthesis capacity results in higher carbon dioxide levels in years of frequent wildfire incidence.
• Sporadic eruption events add to the carbon dioxide also given out. The conversion of sulphur dioxide to sulphuric acid which forms fine droplets increases the reflection back into space cooling the earth's atmosphere.
• Fires are burning 6 times the land area and lasting 5 times longer.
• Oil, palm and rubber plantations are much poorer carbon sinks than primary forest peatlands they replace. 21% of the carbon in the soil is lost as soil organic matter decreases.
• Researches found that each hectare of rainforest converted to palm oil monoculture creates 174 tons of carbon emissions.
• Intensive use of artificial fertilisers and other farm chemicals can lead to soils becoming sterile with the loss of their organic content.
• The increasing global demand for beef, pig and dairy products is causing a rise in animal digestive gas emissions such as methane, particularly from cattle. It counts for 1/4 of global greenhouse gaes.
• 1kg of beef equates to 60kg of carbon dioxide.
• If the upwelling of nutrient bearing cold currents from ocean depths increases, surface plankton growth is stimulated, increasing carbon dioxide absorption.
• Drought, floods and other climate factors that increase or decrease vegetation, affect the biological store carbon.
• Both the deliberate and accidental burning of vegetation releases stored carbon in smoke and reduces future capacity to absorb atmospheric carbon dioxide.
• The practise of clearing forests for agriculture by burning and careless actions of tourists and residents in drought prone rural areas can result in wildfires that lead to combustion of large areas of biomass.
• Fires consume 10%-20% of the carbon stored in trees emitting it into the atmosphere.
• Fires allow new trees to grow and store carbon and old trees decompose adding to the carbon stored in the organic layer of the soil.
• The largest single contribution of atmospheric carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is from the burning of coal, oil and gas.
• Fossil fuel burning effectively takes the slow carbon cycle store that took millions of years to sequester and releases it into the fast cycle in quantities far higher than natural cycles can process, resulting in an atmospheric build-up of carbon dioxide.
• 91% of carbon dioxide came from humans in 2014. 42% was from coal.
• The destruction of forests for timber, agriculture land, hydroelectric power, and mineral exploitation removes a natural carbon store, reduces soil carbon content and closes down photosynthesis.
• Geological involves capturing carbon dioxide as its source. For example, power plants inject it in liquid form into stores underground.
• The ocean can store masses of carbon because of its size.
• Once carbon is in the ocean carbon pump it will circulate for 1000's of years. If it reaches the seabed, it becomes part of the slow carbon cycle.
• Growing urbanisation reduces vegetation as cities expand and urban structures consume more energy than traditional rural settlements and urban construction materials increase the demand for cement.
• Land use is responsible for about 9% of all carbon dioxide emissions. In 2012, cities were responsible for about 47% of global carbon emissions.
• Insect damage is ravaging much of the coniferous woodland in Canada. The loss of vast forests due to the Pine Bark Beetle is damaging this particular carbon store.
• The planting of new forests and reforestation may increase the carbon dioxide. This is one form of carbon offsetting scheme and is a type of biological sequestration.
• Land based sequestration plantations are slow growing and add require active monitoring and management throughout the lifetime of the plantation.