Humans dump so much carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year that it's a wonder how the human species still exists. Despite this, humans are emitting a tremendous amount of carbon into the atmosphere each year. If plants were to one day quit photosynthesizing and stop absorbing carbon, the world would be doomed. Of the 8 billion metric tons humanity dumps into the world yearly, only 3.2 billion tons sticks around to warm the planet. Until recently, scientists were baffled by where the rest of the carbon goes. Researchers have found that the ocean absorbs half of the globe's missing carbon. Land plants absorb the rest.

Trees are facing dangers all around the world. Humans are chopping them down, infestation is destroying them, heavy wet snowfalls are causing their braches to break off, and the warmer climates are making them less able to fight off infestation. As the temperatures gradually...