Where does all the carbon we release go?

Where does all
the carbon we release go?

Carbon works in a natural cycle,

present in all living things:
in the soil, in the oceans,

in the atmosphere, and in
rocks deep underground.

When plants and other living things die,

much of their stored carbon

makes its way back to the atmosphere

until new plants grow
and reabsorb the carbon.

But over millions of
years, some of the carbon

stored in ancient trees
and sea life becomes rock

and some becomes fossil fuels:
coal, oil, and natural gas.

Natural events like volcanic eruptions

release some of the
carbon trapped in rock.

And human activities,
like burning fossil fuels,

also release some of
that prehistoric carbon.

Today, humans release
around 60 times more carbon

than all the volcanoes
on the planet each year.

That overloads Earth's carbon cycle

and builds up in the
atmosphere and oceans.

Planting more trees will help,

but trees alone can't get us to net zero.

There's only one sure way
to stop global warming.

We must stop releasing this
excess carbon into our air.