Recycling 101

Thank You...

for being here. I hope I can do justice to the time you will be investing on this page.

Introduction

While working on my last post, I realized that Mother Nature is a recycling ninja. Every living organism is composed of basic building blocks and elements. These elements are constantly being circulated and exchanged between the organic and inorganic constituents of the natural ecosystem. Our bodies are composed of carbon, hydrogen, nitrogen, phosphorus, and other basic elements. We carry these elements around with us (in complex forms) and then return them to the atmosphere (respiration) and to the earth (waste and decaying matter). Every time we breathe, we are burning glucose (or fats) and returning Carbon Dioxide and Water to the atmosphere. Similarly, different parts of our bodies are constantly being regenerated without us realizing it. It is such a beautiful symphony working quietly in the background.

Change is Truly the only Constant of Life...

This post was relatively easy because this is just basic science and there are so many amazingly simple illustrations/articles available online to aid in understanding how each and every element cycles through nature. So, after procrastinating for the whole week, I just googled cool images and added a few comments to each. Super efficient, I know ;) but I still learned a lot.

Note: I am neither an expert on the topic nor is the post meant to be technically dense. If you find some discrepancies in the information shared by me, feel free to add the correct reference in the comments for the benefit of all.

The Water Cycle

I was taught in History that all great civilizations were formed around rivers. Without water, there is no life.

The humble drop of water that we probably sipped after waking up in the morning today has been part of the earth, river, ocean, and clouds in the past. It has probably played with the fish, evaporated from the ocean surface, precipitated as rain, or decorated the peak of a beautiful snow-covered mountain, and then traveled hundreds of kilometers to somehow end up in our bottle of water on its way back to the natural water cycle.

It has satiated many creatures and plants in the past and it'll continue doing so forever.

The Carbon Cycle

All living things are made of Carbon. Carbon is an essential element for life as we know it because of its ability to form multiple, stable bonds with other molecules.?This is why nucleotides,?amino acids, sugars, and lipids all depend on carbon backbones: carbon provides a stable structure that allows the chemistry of life to happen.?Without carbon, none of these molecules could exist and function in the ways that permit the chemistry of life to occur.

As a gas, carbon largely takes the form of carbon dioxide.?Carbon dioxide is released by organisms as they break down glucose.?Autotrophic organisms like plants use carbon dioxide and sunlight to create glucose. However, carbon dioxide is also released by decaying organic matter, geological processes, and the burning of fossil fuels.

The Nitrogen Cycle

The nitrogen cycle refers to the cycle of nitrogen atoms through the living and non-living systems of Earth. The nitrogen cycle is vital for life on Earth. Through the cycle, atmospheric nitrogen is converted to a form that plants can incorporate into new proteins.

Nitrogen was originally formed in the hearts of stars through the process of nuclear fusion. When ancient stars exploded, they flung nitrogen-containing gases across the Universe.?When the Earth was formed, nitrogen gas was the main ingredient in its atmosphere.

Nitrogen is an essential ingredient for life as we know it. Its unique chemical bonding properties allow it to create structures such as DNA and RNA nucleotides, and the amino acids from which proteins are built.?Without nitrogen, these molecules would not be able to exist.

The Human Body

Different parts of the human body itself are under constant regeneration.

The process of regeneration ensures a constant exchange of living tissue with the inorganic world. When the regeneration process slows down/stops, we have diseases and ultimately, the demise of the organism.

Concluding Thoughts

The more I think of it, the more I realize that the body that we carry around every day is not a bank locker but an ATM machine. The different denominations of cash (water, carbon, nitrogen, etc) are deposited on a regular basis and it is taken out as well. It is an endless cycle of regeneration. Wouldn't it be laughable if the ATM machine thought "I am so rich because I am full of cash" just because it was holding cash temporarily? Similarly, it'd be equally laughable if we start thinking that this body which is essentially composed of parts being continuously recycled, continuously exchanged, and shared with other organic/inorganic constituents on the planet is our "fixed deposit/treasure" somehow. A body decays/dies when the recycling process stops or we stop sharing the cells with others. Consciousness is possibly the only constant.

As always, do share your comments and feedback. If you have some suggestions that you can share with the readers, that would be much appreciated so please don't hold back.

Read Next >>

I hope I could do justice to the time you have just invested. If you wish to explore more, I have linked the next article below for easy reference:

• Progress 101: Static Friction

Footnotes

• Start Here
• Nature's Recycling
• Water Cycle
• Carbon Cycle
• Nitrogen Cycle
• Natural Cycles
• Cell Regeneration