I chose to depict photosynthesis as a scientific illustration. If I were to try to explain photosynthesis with words rather than illustrations, it would be very hard to understand, even for someone with background knowledge on the subject. Many of us learned about photosynthesis in elementary school, and one lesson in elementary school is easy to forget, especially if your interest in environmental science stopped there. Photosynthesis is the backbone of the importance that our trees and vegetation hold in the greater ecosystem. Everyone can use a refresher on the basics, and photosynthesis is best understood with graphics.
This illustration shows sunlight, CO2, and water going into the flower and oxygen and glucose leaving it. I think this is an accurate and informative way to understand photosynthesis basics. With this baseline understanding of the impact that vegetation has on our ecosystem in turn helps us understand the critical balance of our environment. Deforestation reduces the amount of trees that can absorb the carbon dioxide that is being emitted into the atmosphere. Decreasing numbers of trees and increasing CO2 causes warming even quicker. As we know, warming has and will continue to have disastrous effects all over the world, especially at the poles, where ice is melting rapidly.
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