Question

Lily is writing a short summary, read below: “Humans contribute to global warming by burning fossil fuels into the atmosphere. The burning of fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide through the oxidation of the carbon present in fossil fuels.”* Is Lily correct about how the burning of fossil fuels creates carbon dioxide? Yes, no? Explain. If she is not correct, what can she say correctly?

Answer 1

Yes, Lily is correct. When fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gases trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming. Already the average global temperature has increased by 1C. Warming above 1.5°C risks further sea level rise, extreme weather, biodiversity loss and species extinction, as well as food scarcity, worsening health and poverty for millions of people worldwide. When we say carbon is oxidized, what we mean is that the carbon atoms in fuel lose electrons as they are converted to carbon dioxide.