Didn’t know that the element “carbon” is really a useful ingredient if it is in certain chemical compounds. However, due to the start of burning fossil fuels (carbon in the form of coal, oil, methane, etc.), we have a lot more carbon in the air instead of the ground.

 You see when fossil fuels burn, they combine with oxygen from the air and form the compound carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.  Burning a gallon of gas actually sends up about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide into the air. That excess carbon dioxide acts like a blanket around the earth which is warming all of us.

However, due to the miracle of God’s creation, we’ve learned there are things we can do to mitigate the harmful effects of burning fossil fuels.  You see during photosynthesis trees, bushes & plants deposit carbon in their structure and the ground, and then gives off oxygen which we need to live!

So let all of us help in healing God’s earth by planting trees, bushes and plants! More on how to do that in upcoming Creation Care columns.