How humans disrupted a cycle essential to all life

How one animal dug up carbon and put it back into the atmosphere at an astounding pace. Become a member of the Vox Video Lab! https://www.vox.com/join. Subscribe to our channel! http://goo.gl/0bsAjO Carbon cycles through earth at a steady pace. Plants and microorganisms absorb carbon, which helps them grow. Animals and bacteria eat the plants, breathe out carbon into the atmosphere, and take some carbon underground when they die. And a similar process happens in the ocean. It s nearly a closed loop, although some plants and animals don t decay fast enough so they turn into fossil fuel, which traps the carbon underground. But one animal started to dig up that carbon — and burn it. For more in-depth reading, check out these articles: https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/10/24/18001538/climate-change-co2-removal-negative-emissions-cdr-carbon-dioxide https://www.vox.com/energy-and-environment/2018/5/7/17306008/climate-change-global-warming-scenarios-ambition Vox.com is a news website that helps you cut through the noise and understand what s really driving the events in the headlines. Check out http://www.vox.com. Watch our full video catalog: http://goo.gl/IZONyE Follow Vox on Facebook: http://goo.gl/U2g06o Or Twitter: http://goo.gl/XFrZ5H