Without plants, we could not survive and there would not be much diversity of life on Earth, just some tiny bacteria, algae, fungi, and tiny ocean organisms. Because of their ability to make their own food, plants are at the base of nearly every ecosystem food web. The secret of success for plants is a light-absorbing molecule (a pigment) called chlorophyll that captures the energy of sunlight by electron movements. This energy is used to make sugars from carbon dioxide and water. The leaves of plants are powerhouses for sugar manufacturing, packed with cells that contain chlorophyll. Plants uptake carbon dioxide for photosynthesis, and they release oxygen as a “waste” product, thereby supplying our atmospheric oxygen. Plants are essential for keeping carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere that would otherwise contribute to global warming. In addition plants are directly or indirectly provide the food we eat.