One way we are destroying our atmosphere is by releasing carbon dioxide gas. Carbon dioxide makes up part of a natural cycle of carbon involving the atmosphere, land, sea, and plant life (Neal 10). So what is the problem if CO2 is there naturally already? Carbon dioxide makes up a very tiny part of our atmosphere, representing approximately 0.035 percent (Neal 10). 0.035 percent seems insignificant, but consider that a rise of about 0.06 percent changes our atmosphere dramatically (Neal 10). Carbon dioxide is released into the air every time a fossil fuel is burned (Neal 11). Approximately two hundred years ago, the industrial revolution sparked an increase in the burning of the fuels (Neal 11). In fact, my grandparents reside in a small town in South Western Pennsylvania called Allison. This is one of a cluster of small towns in that region. I think that it is safe to say that about eighty percent of the homes in Allison rely on coal as the primary source of heat. Thank goodness for trees and other plants that takes in carbon dioxide and replaces it with oxygen. There lies another problem, though. See, there are not enough trees left on Earth to off set even a small increase in carbon dioxide because rain forests are rapidly disappearing.