Greenhouse Gases Essay

749 Words2 Pages

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What are Greenhouse Gases? Extent of their impact… Green Energy is Clean Energy. Don’t be Mean, Go Green. Greenhouse Gas (GHG) is a gas in atmosphere which absorbs and emits radiation within the electromagnetic thermal infrared range. It’s the main reason of the Greenhouse Effect. The chief greenhouse gases in Earth's environment are water vapour, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. The average temperature of Earth's surface would be about 15 °C (27 °F) colder than the present average of 14 °C (57 °F) in absence of GHGs. 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. This rise occurred despite …show more content…

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. The most abundant Greenhouse Gases that prevail in Earth’s Atmosphere: o Water Vapour (H2o) o Carbon Dioxide (CO2) o Methane (CH4) o Nitrous Oxides …show more content…

As water vapour is a greenhouse gas, it will result in warming. "Positive Feedback" will amplify the original warming. • Carbon dioxide (CO2): Carbon dioxide is added to the atmosphere by burning fossil fuels (coal, natural gas and oil), solid waste, trees and wood products, and due to chemical reactions (e.g., manufacture of cement). Carbon dioxide is sequestered from the atmosphere when it is absorbed by plants as part of the biological carbon cycle. Plants are thus acting as the ‘Natural Sinks’ to absorb the excessive CO2 from the atmosphere. This happens during the process of photosynthesis to produce food. Thus deforestation enhances the process of Global Warming. • Methane (CH4): Methane is 84X more potent than Carbon Dioxide in the short term. It is far more destructive to the climate as it effectively absorbs heat. Over 60% of total CH4 emissions come from anthropogenic activities. Methane is emitted by natural sources such as wetlands, as well as human activities such as leakage from natural gas systems and the raising of

ocean acidification
1828 Words | 4 Pages
The Industrial Revolution was not only a turning point in the progress of human history, but the start of a great change in the Earth’s environment. Technological advances in industry and mass migration into urban areas led to a rising demand for energy sources, a demand met by fossil fuels. Casper, J. (2010) describes coal as ‘symbolic of the beginning of the Industrial Revolution’, the increased combustion of these ‘dirty’ fossil fuels further polluted the air and enhanced the volume of Carbon Dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. Changes in land use attributed to population rise, reduced the amount of photosynthesising biomass on Earth, diminished an important ‘carbon sink’ and concluded to enhance the Greenhouse Effect.
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Greenhouse Effect Essay
1330 Words | 3 Pages
The Greenhouse Effect occurs when all of the heat is being trapped which involves elements like CH4, N2O, O3. But , the one thing that causes global warming is CO2 ( Schlosser). The society has to remember that not only the elements cause this change , critics are causing the climate change also. For example , fire is natural and beneficial but it can also cause the weather to change because it releases carbon monoxide , and all of that goes up into the atmosphere which can cause global change. Not only does it cause warm temperatures but it also disrupts ecosystems pushing those to extinction for those who can’t adapt. There is also the Greenhouse effect temperatures. They have been rising to about 0.8 degrees celsius. According to Dr. Schlosser , in the atmosphere, it returns about 30% of the energy in approaching sunlight and takes in about 30% at the same time.
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The Pros And Cons Of Climate Change
1093 Words | 3 Pages
“For centuries, atmospheric carbon dioxide has never been above” about three hundred parts million. However, in the 1950s it had reach about four hundred parts per million (Global Climate Change). The large spike of carbon dioxide levels could be explained by the Industrial Revolution. The Industrial Revolution lasted around until the 1870s and not only “redefine how people earned a living” but was a the leading cause of increasing carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere (Marshall “Industrial Revolution”). Wind and water driven mills were no longer constrained to rivers and windy areas and was freed by the use of coal. Coal allowed industries to pop up anywhere and everywhere rather than sticking around coastal areas and by main ports. The availability to have factories function anywhere ramped up the use of coal, thus sending carbon levels sky high.
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Greenhouse Gases Essay
1123 Words | 3 Pages
A greenhouse gas is any gaseous compound in the atmosphere that is capable of absorbing infrared radiation, thereby trapping and holding heat in the atmosphere. By increasing the heat in the atmosphere, greenhouse gases are responsible for the greenhouse effect, which ultimately leads to global warming. (EPA Environmental Protection Agency, 2014)
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Essay On Climate Change
1442 Words | 3 Pages
When people burn fossil fuels to accumulate and produce energy a substance called carbon is produced. Carbon is released into the air in a form known as carbon dioxide. Carbon moves throughout the biosphere on the planet as it is recycled and reused. Carbon exists in the earth’s atmosphere in two common forms which are methane and carbon monoxide. These gases absorb and retain heat in a process known as the greenhouse effect. The Planets natural greenhouse effect makes life possible by regulating our temperature. It turns out that adding too much to the greenhouse effect can have horrible consequences on the environment. Each year, five and a half billion tons of carbon is released by burning fossil fuels and of that three billion tons enters the atmosphere. The remaining carbon usually gets absorbed by the oceans.
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Climate Change and Infectious Disease
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Most climate scientists agree that the main cause of global climate change is the human expansion of the greenhouse effect. This is the global warming that results when the atmosphere traps heat radiating from Earth toward space (climate.nasa.gov). The main gases that contribute to the greenhouse effect include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons (climate.nasa.gov). Human activities are changing the natural greenhouse effect. The burning of fossil fuels like coal and oil has increased the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere (climate.nasa.gov). Carbon dioxide levels have increased from 280 parts per million to 379 parts per million in the last 150 years due to human act...
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Change And Change: What Is Climate Change?
812 Words | 2 Pages
Methane is also another important greenhouse gas in the atmosphere is the resultant of human activities. It is infused in the atmosphere due to-
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Cause Of Deforestation In Nigeria
1572 Words | 4 Pages
Everyone needs to respire in order to live, which includes plants and animals. Trees and plants help to regulate the carbon cycle. When the trees take in the carbon dioxide from the environment, they give back to oxygen. When trees are cut down, there is a break in the carbon cycle, and there is no exchange in both oxygen and carbon dioxide which causes a spike in carbon dioxide levels. When these occur carbon dioxide moves in the atmosphere and stores there as a greenhouse gas. “However, deforestation still remains the second leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, just behind industrial emissions” (Culas). Greenhouse gases disturb the normal regulation of the weather. When greenhouse captures and stores heat problems occur. When the carbon dioxide levels in the greenhouse gases are increased, then the atmospheric conditions becomes unstable, which causes global warming. Global warming is the increase in the temperature of the earth, which is mostly caused by the greenhouse effects. Global warming present itself by affecting the environment by causing drought, floods, change in ecosystem, less fresh water available and other environmental issues. Trees play a big role not only in keeping the soil rich, regulating the water table, providing a stable anchor for soil to lessen soil erosion and providing nutrient rich soil for agriculture but it also helps in the absorption of carbon emission in the atmosphere.
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Air Pollution Essay: Greenhouse Gases and Climate Change
1498 Words | 3 Pages
Air pollution and greenhouse gases are the reason for the planet as it is today; the reason why we see campaigns flooding the media informing us to ‘switch off’, ‘save the planet’ and ‘turn down the heat’ and the reason why the government is trying to develop a successful scheme, such as the carbon tax scheme, to reduce air pollution caused by major industries. Air pollution and greenhouse gases are the two immediate causes of global warming and climate change. Air pollution occurs when chemicals or particulate matter enter the atmosphere. They can cause damage to living organisms on the planet, as well as destruction to the natural and synthetic environment (Energy Environment.net 2008). Greenhouse gases are gases in the atmosphere that absorb infrared radiation emitted from the earth. They trap infrared radiation in the form of heat, and hence contribute to global warming. Anthropogenic greenhouse gases are a direct result of air pollution. They are the physical gases emitted that cause air pollution. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases also have an influence on the earth’s atmosphere, though it is not as conspicuous as anthropogenic causes. Together, air pollution and greenhouse gases are intensifying climate change and global warming on a world-wide basis.
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Importance Of Climate Change Essay
1379 Words | 3 Pages
The emission of carbon dioxide has contributed to 80% to the heating of the earth atmosphere. Carbon dioxide is produced due the burning of fossil fuels such as natural gas, coal and oil. The burning of fossil fuel is very important in our society today, because it is used for cooking, used to produce electricity, for heating, for cooling and also for transportation. The industrialization has led to the use of fossil fuel for running machines and driving cars. The building of fossil fuel contributes towards 80-90% of the carbon dioxide we find in our atmosphere today. When the ecosystems are altered and vegetation is either burned or took out, the carbon stored in them is relinquished to the atmosphere as carbon dioxide (What causes global climate change, 2005). Methane is another gas being produced in the process which all have served to increase the greenhouse effect in our atmosphere. Methane is produced from the cultivation of rice, from the burning of coal and from cattle, it has increased by 145% due to human
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Anthropogenic Climate Change Essay
1170 Words | 3 Pages
The most destructive human contribution to climate change is fossil fuels combustion, which results in the release of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. Increased carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and halocarbons levels in the atmosphere cause an imbalance in the earth’s energy. This is because the gases alter solar radiation and thermal radiation which regulate the earth’s energy. Research indicates that anthropogenic climate change is the cause of the increased global warming over the last fifty years. 57 % of the carbon dioxide emitted is absorbed into the atmosphere while the rest is absorbed into the oceans. Carbon dioxide in the atmosphere is the most central greenhouse gas that is associated with global warming (Eby, Zickfield, Montenegro, Archer, Meissner, & Weaver,
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Global Warming and Climate Change
2338 Words | 5 Pages
Greenhouse gases cause the radiant heat of the sun to be trapped in the Earth's lower atmosphere, which causes global warming. If there weren’t any greenhouse gases, the earth would be really cold due to very little sun rays being absorbed into the earth. Global warming can and will lead to several problems that affect the environment in which we humans live. These problems can lead to warmer temperatures all around the world, it can endanger animals and the wildlife, and it can lead to widespread flooding from the glaciers melting. Here are a few more future effects that I will discuss in more detail.
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Carbon Dioxide
647 Words | 2 Pages
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.
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Effects of Agriculture on the Environment
2078 Words | 5 Pages
The greenhouse gases are those that absorb the Earths radiation and thus contribute to the greenhouse effect, but water is also a major absorber of energy. Where there is an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases (as with CO2 due to the burning of fossil fuels) this results in an enhanced greenhouse effect - which is of concern as it could lead to climate change (i.e. global warming).
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Argumentative Essay On Global Warming
1167 Words | 3 Pages
Global warming is the gradual rise in temperature and oceans due to recent human activity. This is created by the production of too much carbon dioxide that is released into the earth’s atmosphere. The carbon dioxide, also known as a greenhouse gas, remains in the air trapping heat and gradually warming the planet. Other greenhouse gases such as: methane, nitrous oxide, and water vapor also contribute to this slow warming. According to Live Science, The state of these gases being trapped is called the greenhouse effect, which is one of the leading causes of global warming (Lallanillia). All the gases are created differently and have different effects on the earth. As for some greenhouse gases can be in the atmosphere for a short amount of time, other gases can remain in the atmosphere for thousands of
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