Photosynthesis

Our natural worlds most precious resource.





In our planet's long history, there has been no biological process that has affected the world as profoundly as photosynthesis. Without this miracle of nature, our Earth would be uninhabitable; a dull black rock floating unknown in the limitless expanses of the universe. I argue that due to the role photosynthesis has played in the creation of our atmosphere, photosynthesis is the most important biological process in the history of organic life and that this life giving function is being threatened by things, such as deforestation . Before one can go into how our environment is influenced by photosynthesis, you must first attempt to understand the chemistry of the photosynthetic world. Chemically speaking the equation of photosynthesis is, 6CO2 + 6H2O + Solar Energy => C6H12O6 + 6O2. What this means is that photosynthesis is responsible for the creation of life sustaining oxygen.

It is because of this creation of oxygen, that we have the planet we have today. About 3500 million years ago, the first photosynthetic bacteria were thought to have emerged into the primordial ooze. There creature were known as Cyanobacterium or Blue-Green Algae. This prehistoric Earth would be considered , by our current standards, a toxic and deadly place. It was these early bacteria that, over time, filled our earth with oxygen. The reason that these bacteria flourished in this desolate past is due to the greenhouse effect.


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