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The oxygen in the atmosphere (21%) is the result of photosynthesis.
The nitrogen in the atmosphere (78%) is the result of denitrification.
The carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (0.0392%, or 392 ppm, July 2011) is the result of respiration.
Uncommon sense
The juvenile carbon dioxide [that not yet recycled through the biosphere] originated in volcano eruptions.
The balance between photosynthesis [by green plants] and respiration [by animals]
determines
the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Uncommon sense: The sense
behind global warming
This concentration has been going up at an average rate of about 1.7 ppm per year in the past 20 years.
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