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Photosynthesis
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I think that it is a fairly well known fact that plants are a very good thing for the environment. Everyone knows that plants get their energy from the sun, and most people know that they convert Carbon Dioxide into Oxygen. This is a simple description of Photosynthesis. Despite the fact that people know the basics though I still think that there are many who do not really know exactly how much of an impact that plants have on our environment.
Definition:
Photosynthesis: n.
The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates (normally in the form of sugars) are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.
So how does photosynthesis work?
First sunlight that hits the plant is used to move ions of Hydrogen in the Chloroplasts. A chloroplast is a cell in the plant that produces carbohydrates like glucose and sucrose. The ions of Hydrogen moving release energy that is used to make a chemical called ATP. ATP is what powers much of Photosynthesis. This process is called Cyclic Photophosphorylation.
A Chloroplast is the most important part of a plant. It is what gives them food, makes their energy, and keeps them healthy. It is sort of like a hospital. Inside of the Chloroplast there are several things with different functions. The Chlorophyll is like the pharmacist, they hustle around in the hospital and take orders for medicines?then they take those orders and make dosages useful for the people in the hospital. In the same way the Chlorophyll takes in the energy from sunlight and targets it to a specific part of the ?Photosystem?. A Photosystem is like the nurses that administer the drugs from the pharmacist?it takes the ?medicine? (energy from chlorophyll) and uses it to help ?cure? the patient. The Photosystem is a series of proteins; when the energy from the Chlorophyll is transferred to them, they take it and use it with Hydrogen (derived from water absorbed through the roots of a plant, H20) to release some of the Hydrogen atom?s electrons. This reaction provides the energy necessary for a Chloroplast to produce ATP, a key ingredient in Photosynthesis, as well as NADPH, another key part of Photosynthesis.
When the plant takes hydrogen and uses its electrons to create ATP and NADPH there is a byproduct?Oxygen! How does this happen? Well, when water (H2O) has its two Hydrogen (H) atoms separated from the rest of the molecule there is one atom of oxygen left (0), photosynthesis requires a lot of water so naturally it produces a lot of Oxygen.
The next step in Photosynthesis is what causes all of the discussions about using plants as ?Carbon Offsets?, or a way to reduce Carbon Emissions. The ATP and NADPH from the ?light dependant reaction? (part of photosynthesis that requires light) is used in a reaction with Carbon Dioxide to create the sugars that the plant needs to survive. What happens in this step is the plant absorbs carbon dioxide and a reaction between the ATP, Carbon Dioxide, and NADPH occurs. First the Carbon Dioxide reacts with an enzyme called rubisco (RuBisCO is how it is written in scientific fields). The rubisco splits in half to form two new molecules. These new molecules are a substance known as G3P?a basic carbohydrate that a plant can use later on to make more complex carbohydrates like Glucose (Sugar).
And that my friends is Photosynthesis
.
So now that you know all of the steps involved it is time to talk about the environmental impact of plants.
Trees:
An average sized tree can absorb roughly 25 to 50 pounds of CO2, and about 1 ton (2,000 pounds) over its lifetime. It takes about 60 trees to absorb 1 ton of CO2 in a year. The average (city) home has about 4 trees on its property. These four trees will absorb about 150 pounds of CO2 per year.
I want to point out something about carbon dioxide really quick. It is a gas, light as oxygen?and somehow we manage to produce 12 tons of it per house in America! How is that possible?
This means that it takes about 720 trees per household to offset our carbon emissions. There are about 100 million houses in America, so to offset all that carbon it would take 72 billion trees.
What about my lawn?
One of the first things that I thought about when I began to type this was how much of an impact our yards have. The answer I got is a resounding ?not much?. Nation-wide, lawns reduce our carbon footprint by 13.2 million pounds of CO2. That is about 13 pounds of CO2 per lawn in a year that is absorbed.
What can I do?
In order to reduce your carbon foot print there are a few things that you can do:
-Using compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of regular ones will save about .5 tons of CO2.
-Setting your thermostat lower, sealing windows in the winter, and setting your thermostat higher in the summer and lower in the winter can save about 1 ton of CO2 per year.
-Using Energy Star Certified appliances can save 1 ton of CO2 per year.
-Lowering your hot water heater temperature to 120 degrees, properly insulating your hot water heater, and using low-flow shower heads will save about .5 tons of CO2 per year.
-Driving your car 10 miles a day in a year results in 2.7 tons of CO2 per year, checking your air filter regularly can eliminate .5 tons, and checking your tire pressure every month can save about .1 tons.
-Recycling and composting can eliminate about .5 tons of CO2 a year per action.
-Planting trees and using natural fertilizers can reduce our carbon footprint by about a half ton a year (depending on the amount of trees and the size of a lawn).
Plants do a lot of other great things besides acting as a carbon emissions reduction system, they also store water and prevent drought, and their roots can prevent mudslides on steep slopes? especially in rainy areas, plants also produce oxygen, and provide habitats for many animals. Even if in small numbers their impact is not felt much when we all plant trees and flowers we can make a big difference.
If you have any questions or thoughts feel free to leave a comment. If you want to calculate your own carbon footprint go to http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/ .
-Austin Evans
Definition:
Photosynthesis: n.
The process in green plants and certain other organisms by which carbohydrates (normally in the form of sugars) are synthesized from carbon dioxide and water using light as an energy source. Most forms of photosynthesis release oxygen as a byproduct.
So how does photosynthesis work?
First sunlight that hits the plant is used to move ions of Hydrogen in the Chloroplasts. A chloroplast is a cell in the plant that produces carbohydrates like glucose and sucrose. The ions of Hydrogen moving release energy that is used to make a chemical called ATP. ATP is what powers much of Photosynthesis. This process is called Cyclic Photophosphorylation.
A Chloroplast is the most important part of a plant. It is what gives them food, makes their energy, and keeps them healthy. It is sort of like a hospital. Inside of the Chloroplast there are several things with different functions. The Chlorophyll is like the pharmacist, they hustle around in the hospital and take orders for medicines?then they take those orders and make dosages useful for the people in the hospital. In the same way the Chlorophyll takes in the energy from sunlight and targets it to a specific part of the ?Photosystem?. A Photosystem is like the nurses that administer the drugs from the pharmacist?it takes the ?medicine? (energy from chlorophyll) and uses it to help ?cure? the patient. The Photosystem is a series of proteins; when the energy from the Chlorophyll is transferred to them, they take it and use it with Hydrogen (derived from water absorbed through the roots of a plant, H20) to release some of the Hydrogen atom?s electrons. This reaction provides the energy necessary for a Chloroplast to produce ATP, a key ingredient in Photosynthesis, as well as NADPH, another key part of Photosynthesis.
When the plant takes hydrogen and uses its electrons to create ATP and NADPH there is a byproduct?Oxygen! How does this happen? Well, when water (H2O) has its two Hydrogen (H) atoms separated from the rest of the molecule there is one atom of oxygen left (0), photosynthesis requires a lot of water so naturally it produces a lot of Oxygen.
The next step in Photosynthesis is what causes all of the discussions about using plants as ?Carbon Offsets?, or a way to reduce Carbon Emissions. The ATP and NADPH from the ?light dependant reaction? (part of photosynthesis that requires light) is used in a reaction with Carbon Dioxide to create the sugars that the plant needs to survive. What happens in this step is the plant absorbs carbon dioxide and a reaction between the ATP, Carbon Dioxide, and NADPH occurs. First the Carbon Dioxide reacts with an enzyme called rubisco (RuBisCO is how it is written in scientific fields). The rubisco splits in half to form two new molecules. These new molecules are a substance known as G3P?a basic carbohydrate that a plant can use later on to make more complex carbohydrates like Glucose (Sugar).
And that my friends is Photosynthesis
.So now that you know all of the steps involved it is time to talk about the environmental impact of plants.
Trees:
An average sized tree can absorb roughly 25 to 50 pounds of CO2, and about 1 ton (2,000 pounds) over its lifetime. It takes about 60 trees to absorb 1 ton of CO2 in a year. The average (city) home has about 4 trees on its property. These four trees will absorb about 150 pounds of CO2 per year.
I want to point out something about carbon dioxide really quick. It is a gas, light as oxygen?and somehow we manage to produce 12 tons of it per house in America! How is that possible?
This means that it takes about 720 trees per household to offset our carbon emissions. There are about 100 million houses in America, so to offset all that carbon it would take 72 billion trees.
What about my lawn?
One of the first things that I thought about when I began to type this was how much of an impact our yards have. The answer I got is a resounding ?not much?. Nation-wide, lawns reduce our carbon footprint by 13.2 million pounds of CO2. That is about 13 pounds of CO2 per lawn in a year that is absorbed.
What can I do?
In order to reduce your carbon foot print there are a few things that you can do:
-Using compact fluorescent light bulbs instead of regular ones will save about .5 tons of CO2.
-Setting your thermostat lower, sealing windows in the winter, and setting your thermostat higher in the summer and lower in the winter can save about 1 ton of CO2 per year.
-Using Energy Star Certified appliances can save 1 ton of CO2 per year.
-Lowering your hot water heater temperature to 120 degrees, properly insulating your hot water heater, and using low-flow shower heads will save about .5 tons of CO2 per year.
-Driving your car 10 miles a day in a year results in 2.7 tons of CO2 per year, checking your air filter regularly can eliminate .5 tons, and checking your tire pressure every month can save about .1 tons.
-Recycling and composting can eliminate about .5 tons of CO2 a year per action.
-Planting trees and using natural fertilizers can reduce our carbon footprint by about a half ton a year (depending on the amount of trees and the size of a lawn).
Plants do a lot of other great things besides acting as a carbon emissions reduction system, they also store water and prevent drought, and their roots can prevent mudslides on steep slopes? especially in rainy areas, plants also produce oxygen, and provide habitats for many animals. Even if in small numbers their impact is not felt much when we all plant trees and flowers we can make a big difference.
If you have any questions or thoughts feel free to leave a comment. If you want to calculate your own carbon footprint go to http://www.nature.org/initiatives/climatechange/calculator/ .
-Austin Evans
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