Written Assignment Unit 3

Biogeochemical Cycles: The Carbon Example and My Role

University of the People

ENVS 1301- 01: INTRODUCTION TO ENVIRONMENTA SCIENCES

Pallavi Bagewadi, Instructor

July 12, 2023

Introduction

As the assignment introduction rightly observed, the earth is so important and critical to the

existence of life. Indeed, the earth is one, if not the only, planet in the solar system that has the

capability to support life. This capability sterns from the fact that the earth, among other

attributes, can conserve its energy by ensuring that what it creates stays within. This is

demonstrated by the movement of nutrients and other elements between biotic and abiotic

factors. The major elements of this interaction are carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, oxygen,

phosphorus and sulfur, Dorsner (2020) and the process is referred to as biogeochemical cycles.

In this essay, I would review one of the material cycles, specifically, carbon and outline some

ways my actions have or could impact the cycle and by extension, the environment.

The Carbon Cycle.

Carbon is so important as among other usefulness, it provides food for living things, the carbon

compound helps in regulating the earth’s temperature, as well as the provision of energy that

powers and runs the world economy. Essentially, the carbon cycle provides a trace of how

carbon moves or transfers from one reservoir to the other within the earth. By reservoir, we mean

how and where carbon is stored and that ranges from carbon in the ocean, the atmosphere, in

living organisms to carbon in the rocks and sediments. This constant movement through such

processes like photosynthesis, the burning of fossil fuel, and simple breathing out from the lungs

all contributes to a stable carbon balance on earth and by extension stable climate. Indeed the

amount of carbon on earth, according to Dorsner (2020), is fixed and can only move from one

reservoir to another.
My Most Considerable Impact On The carbon Cycle.

With the benefit of hindsight, and at a personal level, one can see the impact of local crude

refining. A practice very common among many young men in the oil rich Niger Delta region of

my country. And faced with the relatively high cost of petrol and cooking kerosene,, the practice

has continued despite the various disadvantages and attempt by government to clamp down on it.

Essentially crude oil is heated by furnace and sent to a distillation tower where it is separated at

various boiling points. This practice simply introduces sooth and fossil fuel to the environment

and greatly adds more carbon to the atmosphere than usual thus distorting the desired natural

carbon balance. This then leads to climatic change and global warming. Another unwholesome

effect is the associated airborne diseases due to the polluted air people are exposed to

And if the impact is reduce….

While the above example does not suggest putting a stop to crude refining, its does say a lot

about the implication of some of our unethical and if you like rudimentary actions to the

ecosystem. The question here is this, how would reducing the highlighted impact changes one’s

life? And what would one need to give up under this circumstance? As simply as it sound, we

need to remember that the action of local refining of crude itself, is in pursuit of economic

survival. An action some of the developed nations may have practiced before getting to their

current level of development where clean energy has become their priority. Therefore, disparity

in wealth is one major hurdle and giving up this is directly giving up source of livelihood.

Challenges of balancing personal choices with environmental consideration.

From the foregoing, the needs of individuals vary and so is the need of nations. So while I

struggle with the need to provide my economic need, should one continue in that pursuit mindful

of the implication of the unethical practice. It is indeed a dilemma of some sort. Therefore, the

government should not onlyu enact policies that would help us tactical as the MD/CEO had in a

Reference

Dorsner, K. (2020). Essentials of Environmental Science (2nd edition). Available Under creative

commons Attribution-Non Commercial 3.0 Unported License (CC BY-NC 3.0) Retrieved this

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