How can co2 effect the earth?

Question

I know from science class that carbon dioxide gas is more dense then the air. We evan did an experiment to show that we can 'pour' the gas from one beakler to another.

The problem is and what I dont understand is that I am told that carbon dioxide acts as a blanket to keep in the heat and rise the earth temperature.

But how can it do this when it is more dense than air and will just lie on the ground?

Answer 1

Global warming poses a serious threat. Not only to us, but also to future generations. Many problems exist in the world today such as hunger, war, terrorism, etc. If humans continue to emit greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide (CO2), at current rates and the potentially catastrophic environmental effects of global warming are set into motion, these other problems will seem insignificant.Political leaders gathered in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 to consider a world treaty restricting human production of "greenhouse gases," chiefly carbon dioxide (CO2). They feared that CO2 would result in "human-caused global warming" – hypothetical severe increases in Earth's temperatures, with disastrous environmental consequences. During the past 10 years, many political efforts have been made to force worldwide agreement to the Kyoto treaty.

When we reviewed this subject in 1998 (1,2), existing satellite records were short and were centered on a period of changing intermediate temperature trends. Additional experimental data have now been obtained, so better answers to the questions raised by the hypothesis of "human-caused global warming" are now available.

Answer 2

The density difference is slight - CO2 is diffuse in an atmosphere constantly in motion from wind and heat.  Water droplets are heavier than air, yet clouds float in the sky.

But it not only acts as a greenhouse gas, it also acidifies the Oceans and contributes to acid rain - which weathers exposed rock.  The Coral reefs all over the planet are dying from the increased acidity.