Investigations of the Botanical Kind: Graphing Carbon Dioxide Production

Concrete is not only the world's most widely used building material; it's also the most abundant human-made solid material. Approximately two tons (one US ton is 2000 pounds or about 7 and a half Mr. Otterspoors) of concrete for each person on Earth is produced every year. One of the main components of concrete is the cement that binds the small pieces of rock, known as aggregate, together. One of the by-products of cement manufacture is the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide, and because cement production is increasing every year, so too are carbon dioxide emissions.  The annual global production of cement is about 1.8 billion metric tons (One metric ton equals 2204.62262 pounds) with China leading the way with more than 700 million metric tons, putting close to 1.5 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. Companies are now researching and developing eco-friendly cements, such as blended and geopolymeric cements that produce fewer carbon dioxide emissions by using less carbon-based raw materials and technologies that require less fuel and heating in their production.

 Using the supplied Excel database created from data posted by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center of Oak Ridge National Laboratory in their report on Global CO₂ Emissions from Fossil-Fuel Burning, Cement Manufacture, and Gas Flaring: 1751-2000 (Ohh I can hear you already “Where does he find all of these amazingly interesting reports for us to graph?” Fear Not there is plenty more where this came from…)

Google Doc Version of Carbon Data

 I would like for you to create the following graphs:  

1. One line graph of Total Carbon Emissions by Year
2. One bar graph of Cement Production by Year
3. One pie chart that compares all sources of carbon produced in the year 2000
4. A series of graphs that display the change in carbon sources from 1751 to 2000

Read the article from National Geographic (Feb 2004) on the Carbon Cycle and answer the following questions. Your graphs and questions are due in no later then one week from today.

Questions  

1.      List 15 places (Locations, objects or organisms) where carbon is stored.

2.      Carbon circulates at speeds ranging from rapid to infinitesimally slow. Explain (diagram) two paths that carbon might take one fast (under a few years) and one slow (over a few thousand).

3.      Explain the significance of human activity on long term carbon sinks in terms of the overall increase of CO2 level in the atmosphere.

4.      Why does the article talk about missing carbon? Where is it?

5.      What is the role of green plants in the carbon cycle? (this is not a one sentence answer)

6.      Why can’t green plants just grow faster and use up all the extra carbon dioxide?

7.      Why is the global rise in ocean temperatures a bad thing for atmospheric carbon dioxide levels? I thought warmer oceans equaled more algae?

8.      What are some possible solutions to the ever increasing carbon conundrum?

Download the CO2 database

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