Home > Greenhouse gas
Greenhouse gases are gaseous components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. The major natural greenhouse gases are water vapor, which causes about 60% of the greenhouse effect on Earth, carbon dioxide (about 26%), and ozone. Minor greenhouse gases include methane, nitrous oxide, sulfurhexafluoride (SF6) and halocarbons such as perfluoromethane , freon and other CFCs.
The major atmospheric constituents (N2 and O2) are not greenhouse gases, because homonuclear diatomic molecules (eg N2, O2, H2 ...) do not absorb in the infrared as there is no net change in the dipole moment of these molecules.
1 Anthropogenic greenhouse gases
HumanHuman beings are defined variously in biological, spiritual, and cultural terms, or in combinations thereof. Biologically, they are classified as Homo sapiens ( Latin for knowing man , a primate species of mammal with a highly developed brain. In spiritua activity contributes to the greenhouse effect primarily by releasing carbon dioxide, but other gases, e.g. methane, are not negligible [1].
The concentrations of several greenhouse gases have increased over time [2] due to human activities, such as:
- burning of fossil fuelFossil fuels are coal and hydrocarbon fuels or hydrocarbon containing fuels such as petroleum (including natural gas). The utilization of fossil fuels has fueled industrial development and largely supplanted water driven mills and wood or peat burning fors and deforestationDeforestation in general is the removal of trees. This often is a result of human activities. Deforestation has been practiced by humans for thousands of years chiefly as a result of clearing land for commercial and industrial development, cutting wood fo leading to higher carbon dioxide concentrations,
- cattleCattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae. They are raised as livestock for meat (called beef and veal), dairy products ( milk), leather and as draught animals (pulling carts, plows and the like). In some c and paddy riceRice Rice fields on Java Scientific classification Kingdom: Plantae Division: Magnoliophyta Class: Liliopsida Order: Poales Family: Poaceae Genus: Oryza Species Oryza barthii ''Oryza glaberrima ''Oryza latifolia ''Oryza longistaminata ''Oryza punctata ''O farming, land use and wetland changes, and pipeline losses leading to higher methane concentrations,
- the use of CFCs in refrigerationRefrigeration (from the Latin frigus frost) is generally the cooling of a body by the transfer of a portion of its heat away from it. Applications include conservation, especially of food, and lowering the temperature of drinks to one that is more agreeab and fire suppression systems.
According to the global warming hypothesis, greenhouse gases from industry and agriculture are partly or wholly to blame for recent global warmingGlobal warming is an increase over time of the average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans. Global warming theories attempt to account for the documented rise in average global temperatures since the late 19th century and assess the extent to whi. Carbon dioxide is the subject of the proposed Kyoto ProtocolThe Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international treaty on global warming. It also reaffirms sections of the UNFCCC. Countries which ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emis. Nitrous oxide and methane are also taken into account in the international agreements, but not ozone.
