Hi all
The problem isn't the element carbon, it's the gases such as carbon dioxide and methane which are "green house gases". Methane is even 30 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas then carbon dioxide. They absorb strongly in the infra-red and so trap heat very effectively. Have a look at the graph here.
Down To Earth Climate Change - Resources and Carbon Dioxide and Evidence & Facts on Climate Change
Now on the graph in the first link, ignore the absolute scale. Think of it as just relative changes and consider that sudden recent rise. Now if you saw that graph as a temperature rise of your tires on your TPMS I think you would be concerned :-)
Mike

