This is a brief description with an illustrative animation intended to show how burning fossil fuels (using gasoline as an example) yields carbon dioxide that weighs more than the fuel itself.

1. Where does CO2
come from?
dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org

2. Where does CO2
come from?
Don Duggan-Haas, Ph.D.
dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org

3. Where does CO2
come from?
Don Duggan-Haas, Ph.D.
The Paleontological
Research Institution & its
Museum of the Earth
dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org

4. Where does CO2
come from?
Don Duggan-Haas, Ph.D.
The Paleontological
Research Institution & its
Museum of the Earth
dugganhaas@museumoftheearth.org

5. A quick look at one
kind of CO2 source...

6. A quick look at one
kind of CO2 source...
• Americans burn 380
million gallons of
gasoline on the
average day.

7. A quick look at one
kind of CO2 source...
• Americans burn 380
million gallons of
gasoline on the
average day.
• That’s a more than a
gallon per person per
day.

8. A quick look at one
kind of CO2 source...
• Americans burn 380
million gallons of
gasoline on the
average day.
• That’s a more than a
gallon per person per
day.
• Um, wow.

9. Where’s it go?
• Americans burn 380
million gallons of
gasoline on the
average day.
• That’s a more than a
gallon per person per
day.
• Um, wow.

10. Where’s it go?

11. Where’s it go?
• A gallon of gas weighs
a little over 6 pounds.

12. Where’s it go?
• A gallon of gas weighs
a little over 6 pounds.
• If you use 10 gallons a
week, where does
that 60 pounds of
gasoline go?

13. Where’s it go?

14. Where’s it go?
• We know that matter
can neither be
created nor
destroyed...

15. Where’s it go?
• We know that matter
can neither be
created nor
destroyed...
• ...only changed in
form.

16. Where’s it go?

17. What is gasoline?

18. What is gasoline?
• It’s a mixture of
hydrocarbons,
chemical compounds
made of hydrogen and
carbon.

19. What is gasoline?
• It’s a mixture of
hydrocarbons,
chemical compounds
made of hydrogen and
carbon.
• On average, it’s
chemical formula is
something like this:
C8H18.

20. And?

21. And?
• What do you get
when you burn
C8H18?

22. And?
• What do you get
when you burn
C8H18?
• Carbon dioxide
(CO2) and water
(H2O).

23. C8H18 + 12.5 O2 8 CO2 + 9 H2O
O O
H H H H H H H H
O
H
C C C C C C C C H
O
H H H H H H H H
O O
O
O O
O O O O
O O
O O
O O O O
O O
O O

24. O O
H H H H H H H H
O
H
C C C C C C C C H
O
H H H H H H H H
O O
O
O O
O O O O
O O
O O
O O O O
O O
O O

25. H O
O C O H
H
O
H
O
H
C
O O C O O
H
O
C
O O
O
C O
H
C H H
O H
O
O
H
O
H
H
O H
O H
O C C O H
O
H
H
O O

26. C8H18 + 12.5 O2 8 CO2 + 9 H2O
H O
O C O H
H
O
H
O
H
C
O O C O O
H
O
C
O O
O
C O
H
C H H
O H
O
O
H
O
H
H
O H
O H
O C C O H
O
H
H
O O

27. These 8 CO2 molecules...
O C O
O
C
O C O O
O
C
O O
O
C C
O O
O C C O
O O

28. These 8 CO2 molecules...
O O O O O O O O
C C C C C C C C
O O O O O O O O

29. These 8 CO2 molecules...
O O O O O O O O
C C C C C C C C
O O O O O O O O
...weigh a bunch more than
this octane molecule.

30. These 8 CO2 molecules...
O O O O O O O O
C C C C C C C C
O O O O O O O O
...weigh a bunch more than
this octane molecule.
H H H H H H H H
H
C C C C C C C C H
H H H H H H H H

31. So?

32. So?
• The resulting carbon
dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O)...

33. So?
• The resulting carbon
dioxide (CO2) and
water (H2O)...
• ... weighs more than
the gasoline we
started with!

34. So?

35. So?
• Burning this six
pound gallon of
gasoline yields 19
pounds of CO2!
• Um, wow.

36. So?

37. So?
• Remember that Americans
burn 380 million gallons of
gasoline a day.

38. So?
• Remember that Americans
burn 380 million gallons of
gasoline a day.
• That’s over 7 billion pounds
of CO2 produced every day
just from burning gasoline.

39. So?
• Remember that Americans
burn 380 million gallons of
gasoline a day.
• That’s over 7 billion pounds
of CO2 produced every day
just from burning gasoline.
• Um, wow.

40. So?
• And, we burn about 3 million tons of coal a day.
• The chemistry and mathematics are similar.
• Is it realistic to assume that changing atmospheric
chemistry to this extent can be done without
consequences?