carbon+credits+(Allie+Kasuboski)

= Carbon Credits/Carbon Offset: = ​ Carbon Credits allow a company to emit a certain amount of carbon based on the amount of credits they have. This helps to ensure that companies are not emitting too much carbon. Scientists believe that by using carbon credits, they will limit carbon emissions and this will hopefully slow down global warming. The hope behind Carbon Credits is that a company might also see that they are emitting an excess of Carbon, and plant trees to help to offset their carbon emissions. There are also Carbon Offsets. A Carbon Offset " represents a reduction in emissions somewhere else - like a renewable energy or a reforestation project - to balance out the emissions you cannot reduce. Also, carbon offsets are the only way to get your carbon footprint to zero today" ("Carbonfund.org," 2003). These Carbon Offset donations help to fund projects in places all over the United States to help lower carbon emission/impact, and help to protect our atmosphere from an excess of carbon.
 * What are Carbon Credits/Carbon Offsets and what problems are they trying to address?**

**When are Carbon Credits/Carbon Offsets useful?** Carbon Credits are useful when trying to limit the amount of greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. If the companies follow the guidelines regarding the amount of carbon they can emit, we an slow down the process of global warming. The Carbon Credits are only useful if they are used properly, and not ignored. Carbon Offsets also help to fund the projects so that we can ensure that we are helping to avoid carbon emissions in as many places as possible. Also, it helps to ensure that we are doing all that we can to reduce the amount of CO2 in our atmosphere.

This directly relates to the carbon cycle because it directly impacts the balance of carbon throughout the cycle. We, as humans, are causing the cycle to bgecome unbalanced as a result of the excess of carbon emitted. This is resulting in the plants not being able to 'change' all of the CO2 back to O2 during photosynthesis. This causes this step in the Carbon Cycle to fall behind, and not keep up with the rest of the cycle. media type="youtube" key="U3SZKJVKRxQ" height="234" width="282" align="right"The video briefly explains the carbon cycle, and where all the carbon is. The video also briefly explains why we cannot have too much carbon in our atmosphere. This video is a descriptive explanation to better understand the delicate balance of the carbon cycle.
 * How does the topic relate to one or more of the nutrient cycles discussed in class?**

No, these two projects are not viable solutions to protecting the biosphere. This is because although these projects help us to reduce the amount of CO2 emissions, they are not completely removing the problem. There will continue to be a large amount of carbon emitted--whether we take part in these projects or not. Also, not everyone is taking part in limiting the amount of carbon emissions. Although with an increase in participation, this could be a huge help in protecting the biosphere, there is no way it can be a solution to fully protect the biosphere.
 * Is it a viable solution to protect the biosphere?**

Many people are buying/selling fake Carbon Credits. This causes a company to feel as though they can emit more Carbon than they really can. This causes an excess of carbon in the atmosphere. Also, when people are not taking advantage of Carbon Offseting, we are not doing all we can to protect the atmosphere. Since carbon is a greenhouse gas, if there is too much carbon in our atmosphere, the carbon will trap heat and warm our biosphere. This phenomenon-known as global warming- is going on today and affecting our world in many ways. Our biosphere is balanced, and by messing with the balance, we run the risk of causing a domino effect and disrupting more aspects than we would expect.
 * What are the possible consequences to the environment?**

You can learn more about the Carbon Cycle and its effects on our atmosphere by visiting the page on Carbon Sequestration.

Sources: (2003). //Carbonfund.org//. Retrieved from http://www.carbonfund.org/site/pages/how_it_works (n.d.). //Easy green guide//. Retrieved from http://www.easygreenguide.org/CarbonCreditsExplained.html