Global Warming and Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Overall, emissions of CO2 increased by 0.3% to 6.8 tons per person in the United States. Emissions of greenhouse gases other than carbon dioxide, which account for 17% of total greenhouse gas emissions, declined by 0.6%.
Emissions from the industrial sector declined 1.3% even though the U.S. economy grew 3.9% in 1998. However, CO2 emissions from transportation grew by 2.4% while CO2 emissions of regulated utilities expanded by 3.2% as a result of a hotter than normal summer.
Overall, 1999 U.S. greenhouse gas emissions were about 10.7 percent higher than 1990 emissions, which are estimated at 1,655 million metric tons carbon equivalent. The 1.1-percent average annual growth in U.S. greenhouse gas emissions from 1990 to 1999 compares with average growth rates of 1.0 percent for the U.S. population, 1.5 percent for energy consumption, 2.2 percent for electric power generation, and 3.1 percent for real GDP
Table ES2. U.S. Emissions of Greenhouse Gases, Based on Global Warming Potential, 1990-1999
(Million Metric Tons Carbon Equivalent)
Gas 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 P1999
Carbon Dioxide 1,351 1,338 1,365 1,397 1,422 1,435 1,484 1,505 1,507 1,527
Methane 182 183 183 178 179 179 173 172 168 165
Nitrous Oxide 99 101 103 103 111 106 105 104 103 103
HFCs, PFCs, and SF6 24 22 24 24 25 29 33 35 40 38
Total 1,655 1,644 1,675 1,702 1,737 1,748 1,796 1,816 1,818 1,833
P = preliminary data.Note: Data in this table are revised from the data contained in the previous EIA report, Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States 1998, DOE/EIA-0573(98) (Washington, DC, October 1999).Sources: Emissions: Estimates presented in this report. Global Warming Potentials: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, Climate Change 1995: The Science of Climate Change (Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press, 1996).
Energy End-Use Sector Sources of U.S. Carbon Dioxide Emissions, 1990-1999
Sector Million Metric Tons Carbon Equivalent PercentChange
1990 1999 1990-1999 1998-1999
Transportation 431.8 496.1 14.9% 2.9%
Industrial 454.8 481.2 5.8% 0.2%
Commercial 207.7 243.5 17.2% -0.4%
Residential 254.2 290.1 14.1% 0.4%
Note: Electric utility emissions are distributed across sectors.
Total carbon dioxide emissions from the residential sector increased by 0.4 percent in 1999 (Table 6). Year-to-year, residential sector emissions are heavily influenced by weather. For example, in 1996, a relatively cold year, carbon dioxide emissions from the residential sector grew by 5.9 percent over 1995. In 1997, they declined by 0.
One of the main causes of the increase in Earth’s temperature is greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are gases that are trapped in the atmosphere. The gases consist of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane. They trapped heat from the sun from returning back into the atmosphere. Over the last 100 hundred years we have increased the earth’s average temperature by 1.4 degree fahrenheit (Carey). This is mainly due to the fact we are producing ten times more greenhouse gas than before. It is exp...
Half of the estimated emissions were produced in the last 25 years alone. Well past the date when governments and corporations became aware that rising greenhouse gas emissions from the burning of coal and oil which is causing dangerous climate change. Many of the same companies are also sitting on substantial reserves of fossil fuel which if they are burned puts the world at even greater risk of dangerous climate change. Climate change experts said the data set was the most ambitious effort so far to hold individual carbon producers, rather than governments, to account for. 90 companies on the list of top emitters produced 63% of the cumulative global emissions of industrial carbon dioxide and methane between 1751 to 2010, amounting to about 914 gigatonne CO2 emissions, according to the research. All but seven of the 90 were energy companies producing oil, gas and coal. The remaining seven were cement manufacturers.
Most, if not all, affects their day to day lives (EPA). In addressing this problem, the plans and programs of the government will play a very important role. Considering that the United States is one of the most powerful countries in the world, the US President should address and work on solutions regarding these environmental issues. In an interview with Barack Obama in 2008, he mentioned that, “The U.S. is the world’s largest economy and the largest single source of the world’s greenhouse-gas emissions, so it is our responsibility to take the first step”
Based on the advancements in research dealing with the effects of greenhouse gases on the environment, at the rate of usage across the globe of these gases the end result is not good. Greenhouse gases have already begun to take its toll on the environment. There have been an increase in average temperature, resulting in a warmer average global temperature. Evidence has already shows signs of a warmer global temperature over the years. Research has shown on computer models that the average temperature will rise between 3.2 and 7.2 degrees fahrenheit during the 21st century. The climate change is not the same for each type of area. The temperature may increase higher in lands near the ocean and in higher latitudes, rather than the tropics and
We cannot dispute that automobiles, factories, and power plants, displace an unprecedented twenty tons of carbon monoxide - per person - per year. There needs to be a reduction in emissions, yet we cannot focus on this aspect of global warming alone. There are many indicators that climatic change is influencing the frequency and intensity of natural catastrophes. If scientific global climate models are accurate, the present problems will be magnified in the near future.
The United States releases twenty tons of carbon monoxide per person per year. Carbon Monoxide release is a result of burning fossil fuels with an insufficient amount of oxygen that causes the formation of carbon monoxide that pollutes our environment. Everyday fuel is burnt by cars, airplanes, large factories and manufacturing plants. This is causing a very large and deadly problem for our environment. When gases used on earth are released into the atmosphere they act as a blanket and trap radiation that is then redirected to earth. This concept is called the Greenhouse Effect (Bad Greenhouse, 1).
The question of whether 1970s-era environmental laws are suited to today's problems is gaining urgency as the Obama administration moves to tackle climate change through its powers under the Act. Likens, Butler and Buso come to the conclusion that “short-term records can be quite misleading; thus, it may be too early to assess critically the effectiveness of the 1990 CAA” (Likens et al, 2001, p.9). Business groups and critics in Congress say that the measure was not designed to address global warming, and that the law's provisions will lead to regulations that wind up stifling growth and killing jobs. The Obama administration says the effects of greenhouse gases compel action, as does a 2007 Supreme Court decision. The court found that the Clean Air Act authorizes the EPA to regulate greenhouse-gas emissions if the agency determines they cause or contribute to air pollution that may reasonably be anticipated to endanger public health or welfare. Moreover, administration officials say, the EPA has the authority to tweak the thresholds, so as to regulate only big emitters, such as power plants and refineries, and minimize the economic costs. The EPA has not said how much it expects new controls on greenhouse-gas emissions would cost the
The recent surge in population is one of the main factors leading to global warming. At the same time, it is also a serious threat to the balance between the natural environment. So much of the population, only a year of carbon dioxide emissions are staggering figure, the result will be a direct result of atmospheric carbon dioxide levels continue to increase, so the formation of carbon dioxide "greenhouse effect" will directly affect the Earth 's surface climate change .
In talking about global warming, we need to learn what causes the greenhouse effect. Rays from the sun are taken up and absorbed by water vapor that is natural in the atmosphere. The United States emits the largest man made greenhouse gases in the world. As Americans we must realize the responsibility to reduce the emissions. (Gore, Albert) Water Vapor is eighty percent of greenhouse warming. The last twenty percent results from other gases that are in very little amounts. A huge absorber of the sun’s heat rays is carbon dioxide. Us as humans release a lot of carbon dioxide. When fossil fuels are burned, they release big amounts of carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is on the increase in our atmosphere due to car emissions. Approximately eighty percent of CO2 increases because of man’s use of fossil fuels. When there is more carbon dioxide in our atmosphere the more sun rays are absorbed. In result to this happening this will cause the earth and the earths atmosphere to warm. When the earth is warming, water temperatures will start to get warmer. Oceans and lakes will get warmer in result f...
Anthropogenic activities from start of the Industrial Revolution have produced a 40% increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2, from 280 ppm in 1750 to 400 ppm in 2015.
Humans and animals breathe out Carbon Dioxide, often referred to as the greenhouse gas, as a waste product. Plants take in this CO2 and use it to make food. This is called photosynthesis. During this process oxygen is released which is then breathed in by humans and animals. This procedure is repeated over and over and a natural balance is obtained. However this natural balance is disrupted by human activity. People of the world are putting more than 5.5 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere every year. 75% of this is caused from the burning of fossil fuels. These fuels are burnt all the time to run factories, power plants and vehicles. The main sources of CO2 emissions are electric utilities, residential buildings, industry and transportation. The other 25% is induced by the destruction of the world's forests. The reason for this is that there are less trees and plants to take in the CO2 but there is just as many, if not more, humans and animals to breathe it out.
As matter of fact, the increasing of greenhouse gases (GHGs) including water vapor (H2O), carbon dioxide (C...
Author unknown, (2010). Carbon Dioxide [online] US EPA. Available from: http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/emissions/co2.html [Accessed 21 February 2011]
Ever since the Industrial Revolution in 1700, Green House Gas Emissions increased drastically. Up until now, these gases have changed Earth’s climate, making it hotter every year. This is called global warming and it became a problem. Earth’s temperature has increased by 0.85 Degrees Celsius from the year 1880 to 2012.
Human activities add to the levels of these gasses, causing more problems. “Automobiles, heat from homes and businesses, and factories are responsible for about 80% of today's carbon dioxide emissions, 25% of methane emissions, and 20% of the nitrous oxide emissions.” (3) The increase in agriculture, deforestation, landfills, industrial production, and mining contribute a significant share of emissions also. These gases that are released into the atmosphere are tracked by emission inventories. An emission inventory counts the amount of air pollutants discharged into the atmosphere. These inventories are important in studying the affects of global warming on the Earth.