Doesn carbon dioxide have good effects, too?
Without any CO2 we’d indeed be in trouble, but the consequences of adding a lot more are generally not good. CO2 is poisonous to humans, but not at concentrations that we could ever create globally. It forms carbonic acid when dissoved in water, which is making the oceans more acidic. This will eventually harm corals and other organisms at the base of the ocean food chain because their shells will dissolve. This consequence may be as serious as climate change, but isn’t getting the same attention, in part because it is less controversial! (did you realize the more agreement there is among experts, the less you’ll hear about it?) Finally, carbon dioxide helps plants grow, but not necessarily the ones we want (one of the strongest beneficiaries is evidently poison ivy! This and other vines are taking over some forests). Also, the extra growth comes at the expense of lower nutritive value, so it isn’t clear that this will be helpful from a food point of view.
