An Overview Of Greenhouse Gas Emissions

The first question that is especially relevant today concerning gas emissions is where do they actually come from? Reducing greenhouse emissions won't be possible until we actually learn what, specifically, we are doing to case them in the first place. Take methane emissions, for instance. To put it simply, methane is produced by the breakdown of organic waste matter-such as the fermentation of feces or the rotting of flesh. It is also present in natural gas fields, from which it is mined for use in fuels. And yes, it is also produced in great quantities by the belching of cattle. But there are other greenhouse gases as well.

Greenhouse gas emissions include the production of carbon dioxide, which you and I do every day, each time we exhale. Our bodies mine the oxygen from the air and the waste product is carbon dioxide. Since there are a lot of humans on the Earth, and a lot of animals, that is a lot of carbon dioxide production. When you look at it like that, you can begin to wonder if reducing greenhouse gas emissions is even possible. After all, you can't ask people to stop breathing for the good of mankind.

But gas emissions come from such varied places, that there may be other things we can do. For instance, methane is also made by producing and transporting coal, natural gas and oil. Additional carbon dioxide is produced when wood, solid waste and fossil fuels are burned. Besides carbon dioxide and methane, there are other natural greenhouse gases filling our atmosphere: water vapor, nitrous oxide. However, there are some powerful greenhouse gases that are not naturally occurring. Those include sulfur hexafluoride, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and chlorofluorocarbons.

It's obvious that greenhouse gas emissions are something that needs to be on everyone's mind. There is not a single living thing on this planet that would not benefit from reducing greenhouse gas emissions, mainly because carbon dioxide, methane and the other greenhouse gases are being produced in such great quantities. And that's the thing. The reason that many people probably don't really understand just how devastating these emissions can be is that they just don't comprehend the vast amounts of resources we're using or the vast numbers of people that are creating waste.