Page 112 - The Error of the Evolution of Species

The Error of the Evolution
of Species

7)The Role of Living Things in the Recycling of
Elements and Compounds

The total mass of all the organisms that have ever lived
is many times greater than the total mass of the carbon and

nitrogen atoms on Earth. Therefore, since the amount of
carbon, nitrogen and other atoms on Earth is finite, and
since no important additional quantity reaches it from
space, how does life survive?
The answer that there is a constant exchange and circu-
lation of elements in the structures of living things. Nothing
is wasted, therefore. The compounds in plant and animal
corpses and dead organisms do not go to waste, but are
reused repeatedly, thanks to the flawless recycling systems

in nature. These cycles are to a large extent performed by
living things we humans never see and have never even
heard of.
One of these recycling processes involves the element of
carbon. As we know, plants absorb carbon dioxide—con-
sisting of one carbon and two oxygen atoms, CO —to per-
2
form photosynthesis. However, this is not sufficient to main-

tain the carbon balance, because a large amount of carbon
remains gathered in dead plants and animals. At this point,
bacteria and fungi enter the equation and release the carbon

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