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Human activity and other life affect the characteristics of Earth surface, waters, and atmosphere, evening areas that we are far removed from human activity and living things. For example, airpollutants, such as lead, and other artifacts of our urban society are found in glacial ice, and pesticides may be found in lakes far from agricultural areas. Air samples taken near the summit of Mauna Loa,Hawaii (one of the world’s largest active volcanoes and the highest mountain in the world based of elevation change from base to top); have helped show another dimension of how life and humanactivity are affecting the atmosphere. Samples are taken at Mauna Loa because it is far from local, direct affects of human life and other biological activity. Because carbon oxide is taken up by greenplants during photosynthesis and released in the respiration of all oxygen-breathing organisms, a measure of the carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is analogous to a measure of the breathing in and out ofall life on Earth.

Similar observations have been made in Antarctica over a similar time span. Because Antarctica is much lees accessible, measurements are more sporadic; nevertheless, the sametrends are observed: a strong upward trend in the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere and an annual cycle. The annual cycle on the Antarctic is smaller in amplitude than the Mauna Loa cyclebecause of the relatively smaller land area in the Southern Hemisphere and the smaller amount of woody vegetation that stores carbon dioxide with the atmosphere.
The upward trend (increase) in thecarbon dioxide concentration of the atmosphere from both Mauna Loa and Antarctica is believed to be due to the addition of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels and other human activities, suchas cutting forests and burning wood (burning releases the stored carbon in the wood, which combines whit oxygen-producing carbon dioxide). The curves were some of the first data to show directly...