Carbon Cycle

How Do Humans Place Carbon in the Atmosphere?

Humans place carbon into the atmosphere in a variety of ways.

Deforestation. When we cut down trees and forests, they can no longer remove carbon dioxide from the air. This results in additional carbon dioxide placed in the atmosphere.	Wood burning. When we burn wood, the carbon stored in the trees becomes carbon dioxide and enters the atmosphere.	Combustion of fossil fuels. We extract fossils fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) from the ground and burn them for energy at power plants. The burning of fossil fuels is called combustion. Fossil fuel combustion releases carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.