Greenhouse Gases and Global Warming
Facts from United States Environmental Protection Agency
What are Greenhouse
Gases?
Greenhouse gases are gases that trap heat from the sun in
the atmosphere causing the atmosphere to slowly keep getting warmer and warmer,
causing Global Warming or Climate Change.
What are the types of
Greenhouse Gases?
The major greenhouse gases that enter the atmosphere because
of humans are as followed:
·
Carbon Dioxide (CO2)- Carbon
Dioxide does occur naturally along with being created by human activity. Carbon
Dioxide enters through the burning of fossil fuels (oil, natural gas, and
coal), solid waste, trees and wood products, and also as a result of other
chemical reactions, such as manufacture of cement.
·
Methane (CH4)- Methane enters during
the production and transport of coal, natural gas, and oil. Methane is also
emitted through the waste of livestock and decay of organic waste in municipal
waste landfills.
·
Nitrous Oxide (N2O)- Nitrous Oxide
enters the atmosphere during agricultural and industrial activities and during
combustion of fossil fuels and solid waste.
·
Fluorinated Gases- Fluorinated Gases are
synthetic, powerful greenhouse gases that enter from a variety of industrial
processes. Fluorinated Gases include, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and
sulfur hexafluoride. These gases are usually emitted into the atmosphere in
smaller quantities, but they are considered High Global Warming Potential gases
because they are so potent.
What are the effects
of Greenhouse Gases?
Greenhouse Gases are causing Climate Change. Some of the
effects of Climate Change is temperatures are rising, ice sheets are melting,
oceans are rising, flowers are blooming earlier, snow is melting sooner, and
birds aren’t flying as far south as before. These effects cause other effects
such as, more powerful storms, more flooding and more droughts. All of these change
habitats and lives causing animals to have a harder time finding food and maybe
even threaten their species.
Nice fact sheet! I still don't know what to think about greenhouse gases, are they really causing our climate to change that drastically? Do you think eventually nature and people will adapt or is it happening too fast? If it is true, the saddest part is that the animals are being disturbed in their natural habitats. The factories that produce the most gases will hopefully find an alternative so that less damage is done from their production.
ReplyDeleteInteresting, I've never heard of fluorinated gases before! I've always known about CO2 and Methane but I've never really heard anything about what create fluorinated gases. I'll have to check out their origins to see if I'm contributing to that category of gases.
ReplyDelete