Assignment task:
Prior to the Industrial Revolution, the addition of carbon dioxide to the atmosphere by humans burning wood and other biomass sources was offset by the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere by plant life. Today, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is significantly higher because of fossil fuel combustion and large-scale deforestation. If humans were able to stop adding greenhouse gases by drastically reducing the use of fossil fuels, would the atmosphere quickly return to pre-Industrial Revolution levels of carbon dioxide? Explain why or why not. What action could be taken to hasten the removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere?