Excess oxygen is actually harmful to humans, but all the climate warnings are about losing oxygen, not nitrogen edit: but when we look for habitable planets, our focus is ‘oxygen rich atmosphere’, not ‘nitrogen rich’, and in medical settings, we’re always concerned about low oxygen, not nitrogen.

Deep sea divers also use a nitrogen mix (nitrox) to stay alive and help prevent the bends, so nitrogen seems pretty important.

It seems weird that our main focus is oxygen when our main air intake is nitrogen. What am I missing?

edit: my climate example was poor and I think misleading. Added a better example instead.

  • Telorand@reddthat.comEnglish
    3·
    11 months ago

    I’m not a biologist, doctor, or chemist, but my guess is “no.” We have evolved to use oxygen to create energy within our cells, not some other gas.

    I would hazard an additional guess that it’s not a simple matter to just swap out the oxygen molecules for something else. Carbon monoxide binds better and more readily to our cells, yet that mixture would asphyxiate you.

    https://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/lungs/breathing-benefits

    The cells need this oxygen to make the energy your body needs to work. When cells make that energy, they create the waste product carbon dioxide.