Anton Haverkort

Carbon dioxide is a molecule that consists of one atom of carbon (C) and two atoms of oxygen (0), hence CO2. CO2 mixed with water under pressure produces the prickly soda experience and plants take it up from the air, use water taken up from the soil and with energy from the sun make sugars in the green parts of the plant: photosynthesis. This invisible gas also acts as a greenhouse gas: more of it stores more heat in the air as less solar radiation is bounced back to space. Without CO2 it would be much colder on earth. All in all a very useful substance.