There are different greenhouse gases, most naturally occurring in some level in the atmosphere.
The key ones are (in order of abundance): water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Water vapor is naturally occurring in the atmosphere as a part of the hydrologic cycle. Carbon dioxide is the most infamous greenhouse gas, although naturally occurring, the atmospheric levels of this gas have increased dramatically with the burning of fossil fuels. Methane, which is 25 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is a naturally occurring gas coming from natural decomposition of organic matter, though it's levels have increased drastically as well. Agriculture and livestock receive most of the blame for this increase, particularly as the wealthier societies of the world become enamored with meat, specifically choice cuts often of beef, the number of livestock animals in the world has soared. Nitrous Oxide is about 300 times more powerful a greenhouse gas and is naturally occurring in and released into the atmosphere by oceans and is also the natural product of biological activity in soils. About a third of nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere is anthropogenic, meaning it is the product of human activity. These anthropogenic sources are agricultural soils (large scale intensive horticultural farming), CAFOs (a concentrated form of livestock agriculture, which will be described in more detail in a later post), and the chemical industry.
This website by the US Environmental Protection Agency, has a ton of great information on climate change in general, but it also has a great set of slides about the Greenhouse Effect and different greenhouse gases.
There is a lot of talk about 'your carbon footprint' these days, but often the connection between daily life, "carbon", and climate is unclear. The basic understanding of the general public on how "carbon" contributes to climate change is often poor. For one thing, carbon has become the catchy short form of carbon dioxide, but this can make the connection between human activity and greenhouse gas emission narrow and vague. An educated citizen, hopefully the product of a geography classroom, must understand on a more in-depth level this connection and should be able to wade through and critically analyze the popular media's presentation of climate change to discern the more critical content and form the questions which should arise from it.
This report from the government details the greenhouse gas emissions data for the UK for the past 20+ years.
The key ones are (in order of abundance): water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide.
Water vapor is naturally occurring in the atmosphere as a part of the hydrologic cycle. Carbon dioxide is the most infamous greenhouse gas, although naturally occurring, the atmospheric levels of this gas have increased dramatically with the burning of fossil fuels. Methane, which is 25 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, is a naturally occurring gas coming from natural decomposition of organic matter, though it's levels have increased drastically as well. Agriculture and livestock receive most of the blame for this increase, particularly as the wealthier societies of the world become enamored with meat, specifically choice cuts often of beef, the number of livestock animals in the world has soared. Nitrous Oxide is about 300 times more powerful a greenhouse gas and is naturally occurring in and released into the atmosphere by oceans and is also the natural product of biological activity in soils. About a third of nitrous oxide released into the atmosphere is anthropogenic, meaning it is the product of human activity. These anthropogenic sources are agricultural soils (large scale intensive horticultural farming), CAFOs (a concentrated form of livestock agriculture, which will be described in more detail in a later post), and the chemical industry.
This website by the US Environmental Protection Agency, has a ton of great information on climate change in general, but it also has a great set of slides about the Greenhouse Effect and different greenhouse gases.
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There is a lot of talk about 'your carbon footprint' these days, but often the connection between daily life, "carbon", and climate is unclear. The basic understanding of the general public on how "carbon" contributes to climate change is often poor. For one thing, carbon has become the catchy short form of carbon dioxide, but this can make the connection between human activity and greenhouse gas emission narrow and vague. An educated citizen, hopefully the product of a geography classroom, must understand on a more in-depth level this connection and should be able to wade through and critically analyze the popular media's presentation of climate change to discern the more critical content and form the questions which should arise from it.
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This report from the government details the greenhouse gas emissions data for the UK for the past 20+ years.
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